The Songbird (Old, being rewritten)
by LovelyLiterate
Summary: This fanfic has been discontinued and is currently being rewritten! Feel free to read if you'd like or check out the new version!
1. Prologue

She heard them coming before their footsteps began echoing down the hallway to her prison. It wasn't hard to miss though. Screams had begun filling the air only to be cut off, the vibrations of fighting could be felt through the ground. It had not taken the intruders long. They infiltrated the base quickly, sweeping closer to the cells along the wall as the seconds ticked on. When the noise begun to die down, intuition told her that the base was emptying itself of life. Only those in the cages around her were left alive. Well, them and the owners of the footsteps that approached.

Her gray eyes slid shut. She focused on the two sets of footsteps as they drew near, trying to drown out the noise of the other prisoners that were crying in either fear or hope. They stopped uncomfortably near. A rattle of a bared door opened. Her door. She was the lucky winner. A pool of fear formed in the pit of her stomach logically, but she pushed it away. She refused to open her eyes. This was no time to give into her feeble fear. Whatever fate had planned for her, she would accept it. She lived an empty life anyways. Even death would be better than continuing this so-called life she lived as a captive. _Come what may._

"Let's hurry up and get her so we can leave. I'm impatient." A cold voice said. Masculine. Smooth.

"You're starting to sound like someone I know, Itachi!" A second voice said, barking out a laugh. "But yeah, I kinda agree. It was rather boring getting in here though, I was hoping to have a bit more...fun." A sadistic smile spread across the blue mans face.

"Kisame," the first man who had spoken simply grunted this response as a short warning. He stepped into the room in an almost ghostly, yet elegant manner. Red eyes slid from his partner to his target. Back against the wall, the woman they were searching for was sitting on the floor. Her wrist were bound behind her, a sign of her obvious captivity, ankles kept on a chain to the floor. Her skin was pale from malnutrition. She looked ordinary enough, with long brownish gray hair framing her face. Dirty, but ordinary. By far the most interesting feature was the seal of red paper spread across her mouth. Words scrawled across her face in black ink ink in a rudimentary 'x.' The girl made no movement and her eyes were closed shut. Itachi vaguely wondered if she was unconscious as he stepped closer, but quickly dismissed the idea as her eyes steadily slid open to meet his own.

"Miyu no Kotori." Itachi stated, seeking validation of the woman's identity. The woman seemed to flinch at the sound of his voise, recognition flashing acorss her eyes. She slowly nodded. It had been a long time since someone had called her that. With an expressionless face, Itachi gave a curt nod to his partner, and Kisame bent down to unbind her. With a snap, the shackles around her wrist and ankles fell to the floor. Just like that. It seemed unreal that these men speckled in blood had relieved her constant suffering so simply.

Now freed, Miyu seemed to know better then to flee. She shifted slightly to relieve the stiffness of her muscles, but kept her gray eyes focused on the two men standing in front of her. She analyzed them as she silently rubbed her sore wrist, savoring the slow warm feeling of her chakra filling back into her body. They wore the same black cloaks with red swirls of a cloud outlined in white. They looked menacing and her senses told her that they were dangerous. Did only these two men destroy the place of her captivity so quickly? What did they want with her? _Come what may,_ she reminded herself. She kept her gaze focused on them and waited for them to make the next move. What they had in store couldn't be worse than what she had experienced as prisoner in the dark dungeon.

"You need to come with us." The man on the left had finally spoken after a few tense moments. He was tall and strongly resembled that of a shark. "Two choices. You can come willing or we can take you in pieces. Besides, you kinda owe us." Even his grin looked like that of a shark, with pointed teeth, hands placed on the weapon on his back threateningly. A trail of blood disappeared behind the odd mans back on the hilt of the sword. He was clearly serious.

The two waited for the kunoichi's response, but they seemed relaxed to her eyes. After a few moments, she nodded simply again and tried to stand up. Her knees shook. Malnutrition over her time imprisoned had definitely weakened her. She was in no shape to fight or even flee. She would go willingly with them. The shark man had a point. She did owe them. But it was hard for her to even stand up. Time spent here had not been kind and had taken quite a toll on her.

"Smart shrimp," Kisame laughed, taking a large step forward. "C'mon, we don't have all day." He mused, reaching forward. His muscular arm easily wound around the woman's waist, and her eyes flew open as she was hoisted over the mans shoulder.

With their target secured, the two Akatsuki members made their way out of the base. Itachi led the way effortlessly, Kisame lumbering just behind him. Miyu watched with emotionless eyes at the dead bodies on the ground as she was carried fireman style out of the crumpling building. She even recognizing a few of them as her torturers, their glazed eyes staring into nothing. Body parts seemed to be scattered across the floor, kunai discarded haphazardly on the floor. Blood painted the walls and the ceiling in an oddly appealing scarlet. It was a bloodbath. No, a massacre. The former would indicate tht there had been a struggle, but her two saviors seemed untouched, lackadaisical. She closed her eyes, silently consenting her approval of the scene before her. They had deserved it. Anger flared inside her when she recalled what they had done to her and her cellmates only to be replaced with a smug satisfaction of their fate.

The edge of Miyu's lips pulled upwards in a small smirk under the seal. _Come what may._


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm very excited to start this series. I'll be working with a character personality I've never worked with before, so I'm kinda nervous as to how well this story will be received. Please enjoy though, feel free to leave reviews. As necessary, I was disclaim that I do not own the Naruto characters, merely my OC.**

 **Thank you all for reading and enjoy.**

* * *

"Who the fuck is that?" Loud.

"What does it look like, hmm?" Sarcastic.

"Obviously the target of the mission." Annoyed.

"Obviously!" Amused.

A flurry of voices slowly began to trickle into the once unconscious kunoichi's ear. She stirred, eyes blinking open.

"Shut the fuck up, okay?"

"Make me, hmmm!"

"Stop bickering! You two are so childish."

"Irritating..."

She couldn't see anything, the room was dark. She blinked again, turning her head to the side where she assumed the source of the voices were. Who were they? How many people were there? It was difficult to pinpoint. Their voices bounced and echoed against the walls.

"Will y'all just be quiet?!"

"He fucking started it. I swear to Jashin I'll rip him-"

"Hidan!"

The floor beneath her was hard. She laid on the ground and felt the loose dirt move as she slightly shifted her weight. Based on the rubble underneath her skin and the lack of light, she assume it must be either underground or in some sort of cave. She let out a slight groan and rubbed the back of her neck, bending her torso upwards to sit up. She remembered...leaving the cage. Had that really happened? Why didn't she remember anything else?

"She's awake." Suddenly the air grew quite. Six sets of eyes turned to her. She grew uncomfortable and drew her legs to her chest, lips forming a thin apprehensive line under the seal across her mouth. She felt somewhat intimidated. Six against one did not leave her with very good odds... She blinked again rapidly, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. "What took you so long girl?" The voice spook again and her gray eyes shifted to the source. It was the shark-man that was speaking. He was casually walking closer to her. She glanced to the left of him, catching sight of the red eyes of the man who followed Kisame. She would recognize these two anywhere after she was set free. Her rescuers. Itachi and Kisame she remembered. Relief flowed through her body, her muscles relaxing. If they wanted to harm her they would have already done so. Were the others their friends then?

"The fuck is up with that?!" Miyu's eyes flashed over and a tall man with silvery slicked back hair took a step forward. He approached Miyu quickly, his long legs making the task easy. Grinning from ear to ear he bent his knees to get level with the woman sitting on the ground. In a flash, his hand shot forward, gripping the red seal on Miyu's lips. "Get a load of this! What the fuck?!" The silver man was laughing, fuchsia eyes alight in humor, as he tugged the seal. Miyu let a grunt and tried to turn her head away. The man was simply pulling the skin on her face. And it hurt.

"You know Hidan...that's probably sealed for a reason, hmm?" A man with blonde hair tied in a high pony-tail approached next, long bangs covering one of his eyes. With Miyu's eyes finally getting adjusted to the light, she took the opportunity to glance at those in the room with her. She began analyzing her situation. There was shark, red eyes, blondie, potty mouth... Her eyes flickered to the back of the cave where the only two people hat hadn't approached her stood. They looked uninterested. One was covered nearly head to toe in clothing, the other looking very...wide. All six wore the same identical cloak she had seen on her rescuers.

"So what, what's she gonna do?" The silver man she assumed was named Hidan began speaking again. He was running a hand through his hair in a display of irritation at the blonde. "Kill me?!" He laughed loudly, the sound bouncing around the room.

Miyu narrowed her eyes. Well, logically he was right. They all seemed to be dangerous, all holding a confident aura. But were they expecting her to fight? That seemed...illogical. She was outnumbered. Why would she fight against the massive odds of her defeat? These thoughts fled though when she noticed the man doing something. Gray eyes slid down to watch his hands. Hidan had begun making a series of hand signs. The blonde noticed this too and shook his head disapprovingly, spitting an insult out under his breath. Soon, the words spread across Miyu's face began to glow, illuminating the dark cave. She winced as the seal was being lifted, once again bewildered by the amount of power being demonstrated before her. It had taken 3 people to seal that, another two to hold her down. Again, so simply, she was free. The red paper once forced across her mouth now fluttered to the ground uselessly.

"I..." Miyu opened her mouth hesitantly to talk. "T-thank you." She was not stuttering in fear or nervousness. It had simply been months, years maybe, since she was allowed to speak freely. Forming words in her mouth felt weird. She had become so unaccustomed to the action that her face betrayed her sense of strangeness. It seemed almost abnormal.

"Thank Jashin you're not already dead." Hidan smiled wickedly from above.

"If you wanted me dead, I would be." Miyu shot back thinking of her earlier deductions. I guess talking was only natural if you had something to say. Hidan didn't seem to share the same sentiment though, his smile turning to a scowl. His arms reached under the cloak.

"You bit-"

"Hidan." Red eyes flashed to meet fuchsia. An unspoken conversation passed between Hidan and Itachi, the air tense. "Whatever." The man stood up and turned on his heel, stalking off toward the two men still remaining in the back. He mumbled something about sacrificing the Uchiha as he went. Ignoring the Jashinist, Itachi looked back down to Miyu whom was still seated on the ground. "Deidara," he spoke smoothly, "take her to Leader now that she's awake." He seemed distant, uninterested. Miyu felt a pang in her chest. Why rescue her if he didn't care for her? It seemed illogical.

"Fine." Deidara bite the response out, voice tense. He didn't like Itachi ordering him around. Nevertheless though, the blonde from earlier stepped forward, his visible eye looking down at the girl."Can you stand or not, hmm?" Miyu was well aware of the answer, but she tried to stand up anyways, not wanting to seem weak amongst these powerful shinobi. Deidara scoffed, rolling his eye, and swept her into his arms, much like Kisame had done before. He was walking out into a tunnel in a flash, a mere wave of his hand signaling his departure. Miyu scowled to herself, angry, as he carried her in his arms in a way some people would describe as bridal style.

"I don't think you're weak, just so you know, hmm." Miyu jumped at the sound of his voice. Apparently he had noticed her sulking and read her mind. "From what I heard, you only had two weeks left, hm. Max. Anyone would probably be in your position, hmmm."

"Left?" Miyu's voice came out more like a squeak than she wanted it to. The air went silent. Deidara hadn't really needed to explain what he meant. Two week left to live.

They continued the rest of their walk in silence, only the soft steps of Deidara could be heard echoing against the rock walls around her. Soon they approached a shadowy figure. Miyu peered into the darkness only to see the figures back. As Deidara grew closer though, the figure turned around, a folder in hand. He slowly held up his empty hand, a signal for Deidara to stop. As if on command, Deidara bent down and placed Miyu on the ground as soft as he could manage. With a small smile, he turned away. Miyu watched as he dissipated back into the shadows from whence he came, leaving her alone with the man.

Out of sight, Miyu turned her attention back to the figure in front of her. He began to approach slowly and she soaked in the details of this strange looking man. He was tall and wore the now familiar coat. Orange spiky hair was almost odd enough to draw her eyes away from his. They were ringed and peculiar, yet oddly stunning and pretty. Spikes and piercings seemed to cover his skin, giving him an edgy and dangerous appearance. The way his held his gaze though...it seemed like he commanded respect.

And then it clicked. Her rescue. Hidan's aggression after willingly removing her seal. Itachi's interference despite being seemingly uninterested. 'Leader.' Deidara's dismissal.

"I suppose I have you to thank for my freedom." Miyu bowed her head in a respectful manner.

"Smart girl, Miyu no Kotori. I am Pein." The man spoke, briefly introducing himself. It was deep and sent a shiver down her spine. The corners of his mouth seemed to pull upwards, but barely. Without a word, his arms reached forward offering her the folder. Hesitantly, Miyu extended her hand to take it. He nodded at her as if to give his consent for her to open it. Curiosity overcoming her, Miyu did so, her gray eyes taking in the contents of the papers inside. Her brows furrowed as she read, flipping the paper over after reading. Eyes narrowing, a glimmer of confusion clouding her vision, she moved onto the next. And then the next. Faster and faster she examined the contents. Her eyes shot towards the man again in a confusing mix of emotions.

Every single paper inside...was about her.

* * *

"I could fuck her. Or she'd make a nice sacrifice." Hidan played with his scythe absently, a devilish grin on his face. His purple eyes had trailed after the young woman as she had been carried away.

"Yeah, she seems like she'd be a nice snack." Kisame was grinning toward the silver haired man, a perverse expression in his eyes. "Bet once she starts eating properly again, gets some meat on her bones..."

"So vulgar." The puppet master commented inside one of his favorite creations. The wood creaked quietly as he glanced at Hidan's partner. "Do something about him."

"Hidan you know as well as I do that she's to join. Why do you think they were told to bring her back alive?" Kakuzu scolded his teammate, gesturing to the team that had been assigned the mission. He couldn't help but let out a small sigh though. _Hope she's worth the money it took to get her though..._

"How do we know she will?" Hidan shot back. The two stared at each other.

"She will." A smooth voice commented. Itachi had spoken with such confidence that the other members looked at him curiously. He was looking upwards at the ceiling as if in deep thought.

"Some of us didn't want to join, hmm." Deidara interjected, voice leaking of venom. He had walked back into the room, his menial task completed, overhearing their conversation. His eyes shot toward Itachi in a hostile glare, an unspoken hatred coursing through his mind.

"Your situation was different." Itachi didn't even bother to acknowledge the invisible daggers the blonde was shooting at him, his voice even.

"Yeah, you come out of her situation and you'll do anything to stay out of it." Kisame was nodding his head in approval of Itachi's comment.

"What do mean?" Hidan asked, his interest being sparked. "What fucking situation?"

"You saw her." Kisame answered bleakly. "No freedom. Sparse food and water, starving. Chained to the floor like a dog for who knows how long. Probably had some weird shit experiments done on her."

"Why, hmm?" Deidara was perplexed. The girl had seemed so small and fragile.

"She's probably worth something." It was Kakuzu that answered this time. "Some kinda strong. There was a seal on her for a reason." Realizing the man had a point, the six members fell silent, agreeing. The room became quiet again as their thoughts turned toward the woman.

* * *

"Why?" Miyu glanced up at the man who had given her the papers.

"I like to know about my members." He replied simply.

"Members?"

"Yes. Miyu no Kotori, I would like you to join my organization, Akatsuki."

"Why?" Her gray eyes looked wary, but interested. _A good sign,_ Pein noted.

"You haven't found what you were looking for, have you?"

"What?" What did that have to do with what she asked? The man gestured to her hands, the papers starting to slide out of the folder and onto the ground. She looked down at them and felt a quelling in her chest. The desire for the knowledge the papers in front of her had not been able provide. Miyu looked back up at the man into his strange eyes, gaze intense. "No." She said, her breath barely above a whisper. They papers below held many things about her, but not the thing she wanted.

"And if I could offer you that information? Would you accept then?" A hand reached inside the robe he wore only to be brought back out. Another folder was in his possession. Miyu eyed the folder with a mixed expression of desire and repulsion. And then there was a small nod. She had to know. Withour hesitation, the man threw the folder out towards the woman, his face expressionless. She fumbled to catch it, and held it to her chest like precious treasure when she did. "I hope you find the answers you seek. Konan will assist you for the rest of the day and heal you." As if the name had summoned her, a young woman began to materialize beside Miyu. Miyu jumped in surprise as the blue haired woman bent down, a Akatsuki robe in her hands. Pein nodded towards the woman, then turned away and proceeded to walk into the shadows.

"Wait!" Miyu called out to the man before she knew what she was doing. Pein stopped walking to look behind his shoulder at the newly indoctrinated member. Miyu felt her cheeks flush. "I.." She stammered before taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I would have joined even if you had not offered the information. I owe you my life. You gave me my freedom. I will work to repay my debt to you, I swear it."

Miyu glimpsed the first beginning of a smile on the man's face. The voice that came out was smooth and held a hint of a chuckle in it.

"I'm looking forward to it."

And then he was gone.


	3. Chapter 2

**Before you begin, just a small reminder that this is a mature story. There's a reason I have this tagged under hurt/comfort. If you get triggered or offended easily, I suggest you don't read. If you decide to continue, I hope you simply enjoy. Thank you for the support!**

* * *

 _She lay on a cold metal table. Her various body parts were held in place with uncomfortable restraints. Even her head was made unable to move. The woman could only watch with dead eyes. Blank white walls had long since driven her mad, and she was only barely able to see the people with white lab coats in the edge of her vision. They stared at clipboards, fully invested in their own conversation, giving the young woman no acknowledgment._

 _"Lets give her 10 milliliters this time."_

 _"10? We only gave her 5 last time and it nearly killed her... Perhaps a smaller increment would be better suited?"_

 _"Her body should have adjusted last time. How will we be able to study the side effects of the poison if she's used to them? Double should be adequate to produce the results we want."_

 _"I agree."_

 _"But-"_

 _"You want to test the poison out on yourself then?"_

 _"We also have a AED on hand if necessary." The man waved at a small device in the room. They could always shock her back to life if necessary._

 _Without another word, the people in the ward turned toward her. They're eyes were cold, calculating, but full of some underlying sadistic joy. It was time to play with the lab rat._

" _It's okay. We won't hurt you." Lies. Their sickly sweet voices were only full of empty promises. Experience had told her so. It had also taught her to fear what was next. The woman began to thrash against the table, straps digging into her skin. She saw the needle filled with a strange purple liquid held in one of the white coated mans hands. No. Not again. They grabbed her arm, forcing her wrist upwards. She screamed against the seal on her mouth, tears brimming in her eyes. She didn't want to do this again. Not again. No, no, no. Anything else._

 _Prayers unheard, they began to poke and prod the inside of her elbow, willing a blue vein to the surface. When it appeared, the needle loomed closer._

A scream shot through the air. Eyes exchanged glances, some in curiosity, some in concern. Things had been quiet recently. Miyu had been moved to a small room three days ago where Konan was then placed in charge of her recovery. The trip to the Akatsuki hideout had taken it's toll on the malnourished girl. She had collapsed from fatigue shortly after her conversation with Pein. Many of the men had not particularly cared, nor thought about her since. They had more important things to do and all seemed to have faith in Konan's abilities. But the scream was definitely female. In an unspoken agreement, the Akatsuki members moved. In a flash Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori were in the small room. They were not quite prepared for the sight that greeted them.

"Please don't!" Miyu was cowering in a hospital bed, her voice full of hysteria. She was awake, laying down on her back in the bed, body shivering, goosebumps on her skin. An IV was laying on the floor next to her bed, the machine once supplying the girl with essential nutrients. Red trails of blood now covered where the IV had been placed into her veins. It had obviously been yanked out, and Miyu had covered the spot in claw marks from her fingernails. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Please don't! It hurts!" She seemed to be stuck on a loop, her nails still digging into the inside of her arm. She suddenly hunched forward, hands gripping her hair tightly near her scalp. Deidara was the first to approach her bed, coming to stand beside her.

"It's okay, hmm. You're in the Akatsuki hideout." Deidara tried to keep his voice smooth and gentle. He wondered if she just couldn't remember what had happened to her. Or perhaps she had a nightmare? Miyu stopped trembling. She slowly turned her head to look at the blonde. Deidara's blue eyes met with a set of wide gray ones.

"It hurts!" She let out a scream again, her body beginning to violently shake once more. Deidara took a step back in surprise. Her eyes had not been looking at him at all. It was if Itachi had placed her under tsukuyomi, into a world of torture. "Just kill me, I want to die. I don't want this anymore." She was sobbing now, hysteria building. Her eyes glazed over as she continued to be trapped in her past. Deidara glanced at the other members, a plea in his eye for advice. His gaze met with none.

"Not again." Konan had entered through the doorway walking briskly, her tone urgent. She seemed momentarily surprised that the four men were present, but disregarded it. Her patient was more important. She picked up the IV upright and placed it on the ground properly. With a turn on her heel and a flurry of her black and red cloak, she headed to a shelf against a wall and began to dig inside. "Itachi, behind you. There's should be a bottle named Butisol." The woman instructed the raven haired man. Itachi nodded without a word and began looking for what Konan had instructed.

"I thought you were supposed to be healing her?!" Kisame gave a pointed look at Konan, arms crossed over his chest. The whole scene was disturbing.

"Healing a body is easy, healing a mind is an entirely different thing!" Konan shot back toward the shark.

Sasori, whom had been silent, found his eyes narrowing in agreement. Time after time he had mended his puppets, even his own appendages. It was easy to fix them if you knew what you were doing, easy to make replacements. But even he himself had not been able to replace his mind. It wasn't something you could make and shape to your will, something you could easily touch. The thought slightly irritated him. _Why wasn't it?_

"I started her with some mood stabilizers, but those are bloodstream medication. It could take up to two weeks to take affect." The blue haired woman continued to explain. She glanced from the corner of her eye at the blood stained sheets Miyu was laying atop of, mumbling under her breath to herself. "And if she doesn't stop that, I might have to induce a coma..."

Kisame could only utter a few words in disbelief. This girl was mad, absolutely insane. And she was supposed to join? They couldn't have this girl having a mental breakdown in the middle of a mission.

Deidara's thoughts were the opposite. All he felt was an overwhelming sense of pity. Deidara felt an ache in his chest for the woman. He found himself wondering what she had been through, what she had endured. Sure, Kisame and Itachi had mentioned the situation. But only how it was when they arrived. What had the years before that been like? Deidara found himself gently placing a hand on her thigh, trying to comfort her, his voice soft. "It'll be okay."

 _It'll be okay. It will be over soon._

" _Fuck, she's so tight." A voice groaned in the small space of her cage."Bitch must have been just waiting for it." The man chuckled. He thrust inside her again and she winced in pain. She prayed for him to finish, to get it over with._

" _Fucking hurry up, I want another turn." Another voice snapped. The mans eyes watched with interest, eyes glazed over. He couldn't wait to have his go at the girl. Every time he had left pleased and he wanted to taste that same satisfaction._

" _Sucks her mouth isn't usable though." The first man commented as he continued to use her body. It betrayed her by providing adequate lubrication for the man to pick up his pace. With a grunt, he finished inside her and rolled over with a pant. The second man wasted no time to take his place. She wished she was dead as his large hands roughly grabbed her breast. He bite her shoulder and the woman looked away, shutting her legs together._

" _Awe don't be like that babe. You know you like it." His hand reached out to forced her knees apart._

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Miyu screeched, eyes wide with a look of insanity on her face. Deidara's hand shot back to himself as the girl continued to scream, crazed. "I don't like it, I don't! Don't. I want to die! Stop it! STOP IT!"

"Hurry!" Konan snapped at Itachi who was taking too long for her liking. It was unusual for the blue haired woman to speak so aggressively, but she had been taking care of the woman for the past three days. She knew what was coming next. Time was of the essence. Just as she pulled a syringe out of a sterile packaging, Itachi handed her the Butisol.

"Here," Itachi said simply, his eyes red and alert. Truth be told, he had gotten a little distracted as he searched for the glass container Konan wanted. It was just that...her screams had brought up unnecessary things. Unnecessary memories and thoughts. But he refused to let this show through the mask he wore on his face.

"What's that, hm?" Deidara asked, still keeping his eye on the frantic girl in the bed, but maintaining his distance. He just didn't want Miyu to hurt herself more than she already had. The small woman was rocking back and forth now, knees pulled to her chest. Her knuckles were white from how hard she was digging her nails into her legs.

"Sedative." Konan answered back simply, her lips in a tense line. She stuck the needle of the syringe into the bottle, pulling at it until the clear liquid was now safely inside.

And then Miyu began to cry.

Konan uttered a curse word as she turned and ran to a desk to find something else.

Miyu's voice began to get higher, her pitch increasing. The Akatsuki members looked at each other. The sound was like nothing they had ever heard. It was alien, as if it was out of this world. Itachi's brow furrowed as a sharp sensation entered his head. It was like a tension migraine had manifested out of nowhere. Kisame had an utter look of confusion on his face as he felt the room begin to sway underneath him. Deidara had felt the same, wincing in pain as he held a hand up to a wall as his vision clouded with a sense of dizziness. Only Sasori seemed to be unaffected and looked blankly at the other men in question. What was going on?

"I'm gonna puke." Kisame grunted, holding a hand to his mouth. Itachi leaned against a wall as discreetly as he could, a wave of nausea striking him.

"Everyone except Sasori leave." Konan ordered, her face twisted in pain. She quickly found what she needed and pulled out a set of noise canceling headphones from the drawer. She slid them on her head, a look of relief flashing in her eyes. "I need your help to administer the sedative. Use your chakra string to keep her still." Sasori nodded and stepped forward to assist. The other three men ushered out of the room as quickly as they could, vertigo and nausea still wrecking their bodies.

* * *

The trio had steadily felt better the further away from the girl they got. They walked wobbly at first, but straightened as the distance put between them and the room increased. Eventually they made it back to the living area. Kisame flopped down on a couch situated in the middle of the room. Deidara sat down as well on a nearby chair, a confused look still on his face. Itachi stayed standing, eyes still trying to analyze the situation. The three men had all been lost in their minds as they went over what had just happened in their heads.

"What the fuck happened?!" Kisame was the first one to break the silence that had overcome them since they left the scene behind them. But the other two had no answers. They again lapsed back into a confused silence.

"Ah." A smooth voice seem to come from nowhere. Out of the darkness, a pair of ringed eyes opened. "I see you had a run in with Miyu no Kotori. She seems to have exceeded my expectations." His voice was flat and monotone, but a small lift at the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement and satisfaction with the young kunoichi. The confusion on the three s-class ninja's faces seemed to reinforce this. He was indeed impressed.

"Leader." Itachi nodded towards the mans presence and Pein stepped closer to them. Deidara visibly tensed, but tried not to show it, and made a small nod of respect at their leader. In a stark contrast, Kisame just lazily flicked his wrist in greeting.

"How did you know, hmm?" Deidara asked in curiosity. Had the news spread that fast? Instead of answering directly, Pein simply pointed to the side of his own ear. Confused, Deidara copied his action. The blonde let out a small noise of bewilderment and shock when his finger touched something wet. He drew his hand back and peered down at the blood coating his digit. Blood had been trailing down from his ear.

"What. The. Fuck." Kisame's hand flew up to his own ear, relief flooding his face when he did not feel the same. "That little... _thing_ did that?"

"Surely you did not think I sought out a mere girl with no merit to join?" Pein's eyes flashed dangerously, an underlying challenge in his voice.

"No. It was just...unexpected." Itachi interjected before his teammate or the blonde said something stupid. Pein nodded stoically, eyes scanning across the three subordinates faces. Being 'unexpected' was a good thing for a shinobi after all.

"The ear," Pein began to speak, "is quite fragile you know. Also very important. Most men and shinobi fail to realize this, or simply forget this fact. But the inner workings of the ear control many things of the body. Not only hearing, but balance." He paused to see if the three men were following his train of thought. "And when that balance is...say, disturbed, many things can happen. Nausea. A feeling of dizziness and confusion. Fainting. Blurred vision. And other things as well, especially if the inner workings of the ear are hit with high frequencies. It can quicken the pulse, make people paranoid, unable to sleep. Blood vessels can constrict and put unnecessary pressure on the heart. These vessels can rupture." The man nodded to Deidara in reference of now dried trail of blood down his cheek. "Miyu just simply has the ability to target this often overlooked weakness."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay so I must confess... I am not the type to plan things ahead. I simply like to write as I go with a vague idea of how I want the story to flow. But oh my gosh.**

 **I rewrote and reorganized this chapter a bunch. I put a lot of effort into this chapter as I felt it was a highly important one (it's like twice as long as the first two chapters). Plus I wanted the characters to seem as genuine as possible yet still not breaking their personalities from the anime/manga. But it was so fun. I truly hope you all enjoy this chapter. And of course, thank you as always for reading.**

* * *

"Where's Miyu, hmm?" Deidara had poked his head into the small room where their newest member had been kept to be treated. The small kunoichi had begun to occupy the blonde's thoughts and he found himself coming to visit her often. Whether he came out of concern or pity, he didn't know. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do anyways. Plus he somehow enjoyed their conversations. It was nice to talk to someone who didn't have a black look on their face 24/7 like some many of his teammate had. At first, she was awkward and quite, painfully embarrassed at the memory of her breakdown. Miyu had apologized for the incident, her face contorted with shame. He assured her that it was fine, not a big deal, but she only shook her head. About after a week of his visits though, Deidara felt as though Miyu had been slowly warming up to him.

Deidara had come to the room for another sojourn, yet the ashy brunette woman was nowhere to be seen.

"She's well enough to walk around on her own now." Konan, who had been elegantly sitting in a chair reading over a chart, responded to the young man. She didn't bother looking up. "I sent her outside for some fresh air. Being stuck in this room also seemed to be detrimental to her..." Konan paused shortly, looking for the right word. "...health."

Deidara nodded in understanding and left the room after saying a quick thanks. He considered taking the time to go throughout the apartment like hideout, but decided against it. With a small smirk to himself, he approached a window. Using an arm, he braced his body weight against the frame of the window and then threw his legs out, letting them dangle. And then he jumped. With a soft thud he landed on the ground. The two story drop was nothing for the talented missing nin. _Much faster_ , he thought with a nod of satisfaction to himself. He then proceeded to look for Miyu.

It wasn't long before Deidara was growing irritated. Why couldn't he find the damn woman? The trees were thick and she could be tucked away anywhere in them. Konan had said Miyu was better but...was it really okay for her to be wondering around on her own? He felt his chest tighten at the thought of something bad happening. But it wasn't long before the pressure quickly faded. He heard the soft mummer of the woman's voice in the distance. Apparently getting himself riled up for no reason, Deidara shook his head to himself and headed towards the direction of the feminine sound. He soon came to a small clearing and spied Miyu sitting on a log. His head titled in a question though. Was she talking...to a bird?

"Oh, well that's quite disappointing to hear." Miyu's face seemed to be tinged with sadness as she spoke to a small bird that stood on her hand. It was tiny with an orangish head and a gray and brown striped body. The bird whistled a melody back, hoping lightly around on Miyu's palm. Deidara's eye widened as Miyu then pushed her lips together in an o and whistled back.

"Um, Miyu?" Deidara entered the clearing, eyes full of question. The bird immediately took flight and disappeared into the canopy of the treetops, Miyu letting out a startled gasp. The man was dressed casually, not wearing the Akatsuki cloak Miyu had become so familiar with. She felt silly that the lack of it had made her feel uneasy, if only for a few seconds. "Oh sorry." Deidara apologized, downhearted at ruining the moment before him. "Didn't think that through, hm."

"It's okay," Miyu assured Deidara was a barely there smile. She adjusted herself on the log to face Deidara as he approached her. Miyu noticed that even though it had appeared casual, Deidara's clothes were still indeed those of a ninja. A tight fishnet shirt adjourned his chest while a pair of loose fitting pants hung from his hip. A pack was tied around his waist securely as well. "Suki's just skittish sometimes. She'll come back." Miyu found herself assuring the blonde as she had thought the blonde looked genuinely upset. She did, however, find it a little hard to look in his direction. Could you even call the thin material across his chest a shirt?

"Suki? She?" Deidara questioned, smiling widely.

"Oh, uhh..." Miyu's face fell a little as if she was a child caught in a lie, a small blush coming across her cheeks. She looked away seemingly to avoid meeting Deidara's gaze. "Um, well...I know it's not useful or anything...but a sparrow...is my summon." Her voice was so quiet that the blonde had to strain to hear her. He vaguely wondered if she was embarrassed and chuckled softly at her. That was surprisingly...cute. He was tempted to console her insecurity by mentioning that Itachi seemed to have an affinity with crows, but dismissed the idea. For some reason, bringing him up just didn't seem like something he wanted to do. The thought actually irritated him. Instead he thought of another idea, his hand reached into the pouch on his hip. The mouth on his hand began taking in some of the clay that was stored inside.

"Do you like birds, hm?" He asked as her peered into the young girls face.

Miyu seemed to ponder the question for a second before she answered. "Well, I guess so. In the cage I had a small window. Not really huge or anything. But small enough for the birds to come in. Suki would tell me stories. It was a good distraction."

"What kind of stories, hm?"

"Well, mostly what was going on. Sometimes with other birds, sometimes with the people in the village. She'd tell me about the outside too. What flowers were blooming and what they looked like. What the sunset looked liked."

"I see, hmm." Deidara's voice grew sullen at the mention of the life she had lived before meeting the Akatsuki. He hummed again at the thought of not knowing what the outside world was like, locked in a cement block. Shaking the thoughts away, he concentrated on the clay inside the mouth, kneading it with his own chakra.

"Hey Deidara? Are you happy? You know...here?" The question had come from the small woman's mouth suddenly and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. It seemed to be abrupt and unplanned. Miyu looked like she perhaps regretted asking it, her mouth open to excuse her strangely personal question. But Deidara simply narrowed his blue eyes as he thought about her question, wanting to give her a serious answer.

"I think so."

"Really?"

"Well, I wasn't at first. I didn't really want to join, hmm. I lost a bet." Deidara admitted sheepishly to the woman with a light chuckle, looking back in his memory at the battle that had sealed his own fate. He still hadn't gotten over his annoyance at the sharingan user, true, but he knew it wasn't all bad. "But I've come to rather enjoy the Akatsuki."

"How come?"

"Art, hmm. Art makes you forget about the bad around you. And there are some rather impressive artist I respect here as well."

"What? Artist?"

"So many questions, hmm." Deidara scoffed at the girl in a teasing manner. Miyu looked down at her hands feeling ashamed and insecure.

"I just...I've been thinking Deidara. I just don't know what I'm going to do or why fate has led me here." She glanced at the blonde man and Deidara could see the confusion in her soul. Miyu looked up at the sky and let the words began to tumble out of her mouth. She had been thinking about this subject more than she wanted to admit, worrying over past and future. It had built up a significant stress inside her. And once she started talking about it, she just couldn't stop. "It's not that I'm not grateful to the Akatsuki for getting me out of there. It's more like...what can I do? How can I help? Was I really worth it? What was the point of joining if I'm not even strong? I've heard of the missions you do and... I doubt I'll be useful." She shook her head and stared at her hands placed in her lap. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm still here."

"Well you scared the crap out of three ninja in the bingo books. I'd say that's something, hmm."

"But I don't remember doing that. I don't know how I did it."

"Look," Deidara glanced at the girl with a smile, yet his eyes were firm. "Life's only beautiful because it is so fleeting, so transient." The man took the small clay sculpture he had been working on out of his hand and placed in on Miyu's open palm. Miyu eyes opened in surprise. When had he made that? The white bird was so simple yet the design made it seem sophisticated. It was cute. Deidara nodded in approval at her awe over the small figure, continuing to talk.

"Sasori likes to think that true art is eternal beauty, something that can be used in the future. I disagree, hmm. I think its a rather stupid notion. Art is an explosion in an instant moment." With a hand sign, Deidara began to control the chakra inside the clay sculpture. The girls gray eyes widened in wonderment as it came to life in front of her eyes and began to fly lightly around the air. "I know life is short. I'm not looking to make an impact on the future, I want to be focused on the now. I think art and life is fleeting, hmm." With another swish of his hand, the clay bird rose into the air. Miyu watched with wide eyes as it exploded, the loud noise echoing into the air.

"Whoa." Miyu seemed to be breathless as she watched the leftover smoke billow away in the breeze.

"You should live it to the fullest and go out with a bang." Deidara gave the girl another smile, a hand coming up to ruffle her hair ever so slightly. When he caught the girls eyes again though, he looked back at the girl sternly, a sudden spark of dull anger flashing through them. "Don't waste your potential."

"My potential?" Miyu looked taken aback at the now forceful tone of the blonde as he spoke passionately.

"Pein wouldn't have let you near the organization if you didn't have some strength to you. He saw something with those freaky eyes of his. What he saw is why you are here, not fate, hm. If you're unsure what you can do, then get stronger. I left my village to greater my art because they couldn't understand the true meaning of art. I sought the explosive art I wanted and I took it. In that prison, you may have been helpless...but there is nothing stopping you here. No cage, no seal, hmm. Take your destiny into your own hands Miyu. "

"What do you mean?" The kunoichi seemed to cringe below his intense gaze. But a warm feeling filled in her chest. The way he spoke with such conviction seemed to stir something inside her. She respected this man.

"I mean, hm, If you feel you are weak, then fix it."

* * *

She felt drained. So mentally and physically tired. Miyu had thought too long and too hard about things lately. Deciding that maybe a meal would make her feel better, the brunette made a decision to find the kitchen. It took her a minute, but she eventually found her way. The kitchen was small, similar to those apartments would have. A single stove, a pantry, a refrigerator. The essentials. She made a beeline for the pantry, opening the door quickly to scan the contents inside. The pantry was actually deeper than she thought it would be and she had to step inside to look closer. She leaned down, trying to read the labels on packages of ramen on a bottom shelf.

"Well look who it is." A smooth voice startled Miyu, causing her to jump and smack her head on a piece of higher shelving. She held a hand to her hurt head and turned around, facing the source of her surprise with irritated eyes. The man that had removed her seal was staring down at her, his broad shoulders taking up most of the entrance to the pantry.

"Hidan." Miyu let out a breath, eyes casting downwards in a submissive fashion immediately. She was of course grateful to the man...but he seemed to radiate a dangerous aura.

"Ohhhh, so you remember me?" Hidan seemed pleased with himself as he leaned against the door frame. Miyu nodded tentatively. Quickly, Miyu grabbed a random package of ramen and then tried to dash through the small space of the pantry. She didn't really like being trapped in there. Hidan watched with amused violet eyes, leaning out of her way as she scurried back into the main area of the kitchen. Hidan chuckled and Miyu tried to ignore the sound. She pulled out a pot quietly and began to prepare to cook her instant ramen.

"You should be grateful Jashin has shown you mercy." Miyu felt her shoulders tense. The man was right behind her in an instant. She could feel him looming over her back and she bit down on her lip in a nervous habit.

"Please don't do that." Miyu tried to keep her voice even and she shifted her body away from the man. She just wanted more space between them. She didn't understand who or what he was exactly talking about, but she didn't want to know at this time. All she wanted was to make this small meal and eat in peace.

"Don't do fucking what?" A cocky smile appeared across his face. "This?" Suddenly he was in front of her, eyes full of laughter. Miyu screamed, dropping the pot full of the uncooked ramen on the floor. Miyu scowled and full of anger, picked up the pot and threw it in the sink. Hidan didn't bother to help. He instead began to laugh, holding his arms across his stomach as if it was the funniest thing he had seen in awhile."Holy fucking shit! Man! You're like a little mouse! I can't believe this."

"Fuck you." She let venom hang off the the edge of her every word. The small girl just couldn't hold her irritation back anymore. If being nice wouldn't work, maybe something in the opposite direction would? She found out the answer quickly. It didn't. In a flash, Hidan was in front of her, his arms on either side of her of her head. He had effectively trapped the kunoichi under him, pinning her against the wall. His violet eyes blazed into her own gray ones. She found the intensity she saw there to be overwhelming. Her eyes averted themselves.

"Fuck, is that an invitation?" The man said, lowering his face close to hers. She felt him press his torso to hers. Hidan smirked at the feeling of the young woman's breast against his chest. Miyu couldn't help but notice the muscular feel of the body pressed against her. Heat rose in her cheeks. Being in a cage most of her life had not prepared her for this moment. She wasn't exactly adapt at dealing with men. And Hidan was...attractive. She would at least admit that to herself. Miyu just stood there though, unsure on how to handle this situation. "Well?" The silver haired man bent down to whisper in her ear seductively. When she again did not respond, his head titled closer to Miyu's pale neck. Suddenly her senses came back. Her natural curiosity as a woman was soon overwhelmed with intense fear. Fear accompanied with an intense desperation to get away from him.

"Don't touch me!" Miyu yelled, trying to knee him. It failed miserably as Hidan put a stop to her movements before she could even begin, his hand gripping her thigh in place. She felt the blood drain from her face at how easily he stopped her. He hadn't even needed to look away from her face.

"Feisty bitch." The man only seemed to get more excited when she had tried to fight back, his eyes blazing. He licked his lips and Miyu shivered. "I like it."

"Don't."

"Maybe I want to touch you?"

"You just do whatever you want, don't you?" Miyu spat at him, her gray eyes showing a flicker of anger. Hidan's smile grew wider at the sight. He found he liked egging her on and he was curious as to how much he could fan the flame he saw.

"Well yeah. Jishan has blessed me with such a sexy woman so..." She felt his eyes undress her and Miyu's stomach dropped. Terror seizing her mind, she began to thrash, an urgent sense to get away from the man clouding her mind. Her hands hit against his arms and chest, desperately trying to beat him off. It was meaningless. Hidan slid a hand up her body and cupped it around her throat. "And if you're not to be a sacrifice, perhaps you're here for a _different_ reason."

"No!" Miyu felt tears brim in her eyes as the mans grip around her neck tightened, her body beginning to lift off the ground. She again proceeded to feebly strike at the silver haired man. Irritation flashed across his face. He didn't want to see this. He wanted to see the fire again. Annoyed at the lack of his desired effect on the woman, he punched her squarely in the stomach. The air escaped Miyu's lungs and she fell to the ground wheezing.

"Man, what was fucking Leader thinking? You wouldn't last one day out there on a mission." He paused, seeming to revise the statement before barking out another laugh. He glanced down at the woman on the floor. _Ah, the fire was back._ He decided to jab at this some more to see if he could get an even better reaction. "Fuck, maybe not even an hour! You'd die in mere moments!"

"Hidan." There was that voice again. Smooth, masculine, even, calm. Miyu looked up from the ground. There stood Itachi, his red eyes narrowed at the Jashinist, a warning hidden in his eyes. Hidan's face turned from one of amusement to one of disappointment. Play time seemed to over much earlier than he wanted it to be. But Hidan knew the third warning would not be nearly as pleasant or simple as a look.

"She's not fucking dead!" Hidan huffed, cheeks puffing out like a two year old throwing a tantrum. With another huff he stalked away. Miyu watched him go, finally breathing out a sigh of relief when he was no longer in view. Saying nothing, the Uchiha walked up to the woman and held out a hand. She hesitated for only a moment before accepting his offer of help. Letting him pull her off the ground, she winced as she regained her footing. She wasn't sure if she should apologize for the mess of ramen on the floor, for the disturbance, for troubling him, or to thank him yet again for stopping Hidan.

"Go see Konan." Itachi didn't give her a chance to do any of the above.

"But the mess-"

"Go." Miyu let her shoulders hang in shame as she nodded obediently. She let out a deep sigh, eyes flickering between the mess and Itachi. Misery accompanied the embarrassment she felt as she excused herself from the room. Would she always need saving? She was about to turn the corner into her temporary room when Miyu heard his smooth voice again. He had come to stand in the hallway, red eyes serious. "We are not good people Miyu. You should try to avoid being around us when you can. Even me."

Miyu nodded towards the man and he seemed satisfied with her response. He turned away, disappearing back into the kitchen. She knew what the man was trying to say but...suddenly she wondered if maybe Itachi wasn't as bad as he thought he himself was.

* * *

Gray eyes watched out the window as orange streaks began to fill the sky, clouds tinted pink. Miyu found herself watching the sunset as she lay in her make-shift hospital bed. She often did this, wonderment filling her mind at the sight before her. But today the sunset seemed different. The sinking ball of light seemed to be even farther away, out of her grasp. It was as though the world was trying to tell her something. Her mind was preoccupied, consumed with the conversation she had earlier in the day with Deidara and the events that followed.

A light knock resounded around the small room as the door pushed open. Konan stepped into the room and the two kunoichi's nodded in greeting. Konan grabbed a clipboard and walked over to the IV attached to Miyu. Itachi hadn't filled in Konan about Miyu's encounter with Hidan, yet Konan did not ask about the newly formed bruises. With a frown, she began to jot down things with a pen, a comfortable silence filling the room. This had become somewhat routine between them. Miyu had become comfortable with the older woman, finding favor in her quite and calm demeanor. Konan had been patient and understanding with her. A mutual understanding had just formed without neither having to say a word.

"It seems to have healed." The blue haired woman had moved over and begun to unwrap the dirty bandages around Miyu's arm. Her inner arm, once torn open by her own nails, were now reduced to scratches. "Looks like it will scar though." Miyu had heard the comment but her mind was elsewhere.

" _Take your destiny into your own hands Miyu."_

"Konan?"

"Yes?" Orange eyes flickered up from the paper in her hands to look at her. Miyu wasn't exactly talkative during her examinations.

"How...how did you get strong?" Miyu's voice came out in a whisper. With a small understanding smile, Konan put down the clipboard on a small table.

"What do you mean Miyu?"

"Well I mean...Deidara said I had potential." Miyu struggled to find her words. What exactly was it that she way trying to say? She looked uneasy. Konan gave her a small nod of encouragement, showing she was listening to the young woman. With a renewed sense of confidence, she continued. "I was in that place longer than I could remember. And I never had any kind of...formal training. And you're in the Akatsuki, so I figured...How did you do it?"

"I had a good teacher." Konan mumbled, looking up at the ceiling. "And a lot of things you have to figure out for yourself."

"Oh." Miyu mumbled back looking disappointed. Konan sighed softly. Something about the brunette reminded Konan of a younger version of herself. She closed her eyes and made a quick hand sign, a single piece of paper appearing on her palm. Curious, Miyu looked at it. It was just a small square of paper, not a word written on it.

"Here." Konan said, her hand delicately giving the paper to Miyu. Miyu took it cautiously, flipping it over to peer at the other side. It was utterly blank.

"Er?" Her brows furrowed with her lack of understanding. What did this slip of paper have to do with getting stronger? Or training?

"This paper will put you in the right direction. Go on, put your chakra into it."

"Okay." Still not understanding, Miyu did as she was told. In an instant, the paper split in half. Her eyes widened and shot Konan an apologetic look. "I-I'm sorry!"

"It's fine. It did exactly what it was supposed to. All it means is that your chakra has a natural affinity for wind."

Miyu looked back down at the now split paper. Now she understood what Konan meant by pointing her in the right direction. It was coming together and she felt the pulse of warm chakra flow through her body. _Wind, huh?_ Miyu nodded to herself. She began to scratch her brain for wind elemental techniques, yet came up empty. It's not exactly like her captors wanted her to know such things.

"Miyu." Orange eyes locked with gray. Miyu was slightly taken aback by the intense gaze. It reminded her of the look Deidara had earlier in the day. "I'm not sure why you are asking this," Konan talked calmly to the younger woman. "But being a ninja isn't...easy. It's hard. Difficult and dirty. The path you are choosing could lead you into a lot of pain."

"I know." Miyu responded dryly. She didn't want to be lectured about pain. She knew plenty of the subject already.

"I'm not trying to patronize you Miyu. I just..." Konan's voice trailed off. She moved to pick up the clipboard she had placed down earlier. Miyu waited for the bluenette to continue. Konan made a few more marks on the sheets, using the time to think on how to touch the topic a bit more delicately before speaking again. Perhaps a different approach would be better suited? "I know I said I had a good teacher. But there's something you need more than a teacher to become a powerful shinobi. More than skills and jutsu's."

Miyu leaned forward in her bed, hanging onto every word. "What is that?"

"A reason." Konan said simply, a rare smile filling her face. Miyu had never seen the kunoichi's face so soft. But the expression was gone in an instant, though her voice still carried a warm tone."You need a reason to go on. A reason to fight harder, to train more. Something you want to do so badly you'd do anything for it. Something to push you forward even when you want to give up. And I hope you find yours."

"Did you find yours?" Konan didn't answer. Without another word, the senior kunoichi placed the clipboard back in its proper place and materialized out of the room, her form melting into sheets of paper that fluttered away. But Miyu had seen the look on Konan's face. Her gut told her that the answer was yes. She chuckled to herself lightly as she watched the remaining papers of Konan's form swirl around the air. As she did, she spotted something in the corner of the desk.

With a grunt against her sore muscles from Hidan's punch, she rose out of her bed. She tugged on the IV to come with her as she approached the table. What she had seen was the folder Pein had given her in exchange for joining. Reaching out, she took the folder into her hands. Had it always been this light? She hadn't touched it since she had received it. But she knew it had always been. The information she sought was so little, it didn't need to take up much room.

Truth be told, Miyu hadn't exactly forgotten about the folder. She had seen it sitting on the desk when she had first awoken in the room .She had just simply...not looked at it. Sometimes she wanted to, yes. But something had also been holding the woman back. On the inside, she was terrified of learning the truth. What if she didn't like the answers inside? What if she did? Her uncertainty made her wary.

" _Man, what was fucking Leader thinking? You wouldn't last one day out there on a mission."_

Suddenly she was fed up with it all. Her indecisiveness, her tentative nature. Her inability to do anything. Laying down and letting other people decide her fate. A scowl adorning her face, she forced herself to rip open the folder. There was only a single paper inside and she read it swiftly. But she was crumpling before she could even finish it. She wanted to rip her heart out. A throbbing pain seared across her chest, aching in a way that no medicine Konan could produce could fix. She felt tears sting her eyes.

 **The Village of Sound agrees to the terms of acquisition of Miyu no Kotori.**

Yanking the IV out of her arm, she threw the folder onto the ground. She tore out of the room in a rush, using her hand to wipe away her tears.

 **From the date of her surrender the amount-**

She flew through the hallways of the hideout, her face an angry mix of emotions. _Where is he, where is he, where is he._ Spying Kisame, she marched up to blue skinned man, demanding to know what room was his. When he answered, she left before he could say another word.

 **Agreed upon below shall be paid at the end of every month-**

Miyu slammed her fist against the door. It opened to reveal the red eyes of Itachi. A look of surprise crossed his eyes but he did not inquire as to why she was there. Her hands clenched in a fist, tears pouring down her face. Her voice was tense as she made a desperate plea.

 **To the parents of Miyu no Kotori...**

"Train me!" Itachi drew the girl to him, bringing her inside his room. He let the door shut behind them.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Just finished an incredibly hard class. I have never studied so much.**

 **Also, I posted a poll on my page about who you want Miyu to end up with. Simply out of curiosity. I do plan on making multiple 'routes' so I can write out everything I want to.**

 **Anyways, sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

After he himself had just warned her.

Itachi opened the door to reveal her gray eyes shimmering with tears, her hands balled into trembling fist. He could hear the desperation in that small voice...asking for his help.

How was he going to reject her? He had too. He couldn't get himself involved with the small woman. It would interfere with the plans he had so carefully laid out long ago. It was just a bad idea to get close to anyone. He opened his mouth for the words of rejection he needed to deliver when he saw something that stopped him before he could even utter a syllable. A tear was rolling down her cheek slowly. On it's own accord, his mind flew to the image of her when his eyes had first spied her in that cramped cage. A simple skeleton, scared, with dead eyes.

He had grabbed for the girls hand before he knew it. In an instant he had brought her to his chest, an arm resting protectively around her shoulders.

 _Shit._

What had he gotten himself into?

He had to get her out of the hallway as soon as he could. He didn't want someone else to see the two of them like this. With a soft yank on her arm, he pulled her into his room, closing the door swiftly behind him. Miyu had seemed startled, her eyes widening, so he quickly released his grip of the young woman's slim wrist. He moved towards his bed to put a sizable distance between the two, making sure she was closer to the door. Now they both stood in his room, staring at each other quietly. The girl was looking at him with those same sad eyes...

"Please..." Miyu's voice was so small Itachi wasn't even sure she spoke at all. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up and met with his crimson ones.

And now he didn't know what to do. What he _should_ do, torn between what he knew he needed to and the feelings tugging on his conscious.

"Why?" He questioned the young woman with a monotone and steady voice. He was careful to seem uncaring. He couldn't let his interest in the matter be shown. _Stay distant,_ the man thought to himself _._ His sharingan observed the girls every move, his gaze never breaking the connection with hers. The brunette shifted her weight on her feet uneasily under his fixed look, but didn't avert meeting his eyes, something most would have done. This small action had an immense reaction somewhere inside the man though. When was the last time someone had looked him in the eyes like that?

"I want to be useful." She spoke again, this time her voice mimicking his own flat tone. Despite how pleading her face looked, was the girl trying to copy his apathetic attitude? He found this to be slightly humorous , though he didn't let this show.

"Useful?"

"I...I have to become strong." Itachi narrowed his eyes at her. So she wanted power?

"No." His voice was stern and he moved to turn away from the woman.

"I have to!" Desperate.

"Why?"

"..."

"Miyu."

"I don't want to say."

"Then leave." Itachi flicked his wrist toward the door. It was a good chance to send the girl away. He waited for her to leave, letting his dismissal of her presence radiate off his body. He was done talking.

"...my parents sold me off. They've been receiving financial compensation ever since they handed me over to that-!" He spotted the tears gathering in her steel eyes again, words lodging in her throat. Miyu finally looked away, settling to look at the rather sparse and well kept area of his bedroom instead. Itachi could tell she was trying so hard to keep her composure, her voice becoming tight,, threatening to crack. "My own parents knew I was useless. I have no merit. Please...I want to be useful. I can't bear the thought of being alone again!" Now Itachi understood. He shook his head slightly to himself. He didn't need his sharingan to see what she was doing. Deep down inside, he knew, Miyu was terrified she would be tossed away. That she would be given or sold away if the Akatsuki didn't find any use of her. Just like her parents had before. She was clinging to the belief that becoming stronger would make a spot for her in this world she had been brought into.

"Okay."

"Really?!" Miyu's head shot back to look at his face. Itachi slid his eyes away from the bright expression. It wasn't as if he didn't like seeing it. It was more along the lines that he didn't allow himself to. He reminded himself he wasn't doing this for her. It was just more practical to have a member that could handle themselves. Someone he didn't have to keep an eye on in battle.

"Let's go." Itachi quickly made his way to his door and exited it in a flash, leaving the door open behind him.

"Now?! But it's dusk!" Miyu scrambled after the stoic man, gently closing the door behind her.

* * *

The next day, four men all adorning Akatsuki cloaks gathered outside. A meeting was about to begin, although their leader had not yet arrived. Deidara was sitting atop a boulder as he waited, his feet dragging across the dirt as he tried to entertain himself. Sasori was situated on the ground next to the rock, comfortably inside his favorite puppet, Hiruko.

"I'm so bored, hmm. What's taking Pein so long?" An annoying voice uttered to his left. Sasori slide Hiruko's eyes to look over at the blonde. They didn't agree often, but Sasori fond himself nodding. After all, he didn't like to be kept waiting.

"He's got other things to pertain to, he'll be here shortly." Kakuzu stated simply from across the rudimentary circle the members had formed. He didn't look up from the papers he was reading, a look of annoyance slightly visible on his brow. The redhead assumed it was accounting papers, something he was glad he didn't have to deal with.

"Fuck, I don't want to be here." Hidan groaned as he stood against his red scythe. "I could be doing such fun things..."

"Hidan. The meeting will most likely be a new bounty assignment." Kakuzu smoothly reminded his teammate, shooting him a glare. "So shut up."

"You shut up!" Hidan snapped back childishly, scowling back at the man. "But you're right. I haven't made a sacrifice in a bit, Jashin forgive me. I hope I get to kill a lot of people. I miss the feeling of the pain."

"Definitely want to be somewhere else." Deidara glanced at the man from the side of his eyes, a look of disgust evident. He sighed in irritation towards the Jashinist, eyes shifting to look to the sky.

"Oh I think we all know where you want to be." Hidan grinned lecherously at the blonde, his voice in a sing-song tone.

"What?" Deidara blinked back at the man, his mouth forming a frown. His blue eyes narrowed in a threatening manner. Nothing good ever came out of the silver haired man's mouth. And he never knew when to shut up either.

"With your girlfriend, Miyu. Don't think we haven't noticed you trying to coddle up to her."

"Miyu isn't my girlfriend! And I'm not trying to coddle up to her. I haven't even seen her since yesterday! I don't even know where she is!" Deidara's face flushed in embarrassment and anger as he spoke back defensively to the silver haired man. In a flash, the blonde rose to his feet, standing on the boulder to look down on Hidan was a glare.

"Oh yeah that's right!" Hidan feigned surprise, his hand covering his mouth. "She's not into girls, is she?"

"I'm not a girl, hm!"

"Fucking fooled me!"

"Bite me you freak, hmm!"

"You don't have to hide it blondey." Hidan grinned, taking his scythe into his hands. His smile resembled that of a devil as he gave a simple shrug. He then rolled his shoulders in a stretch, bringing his scythe in front of him. "Besides, I can kinda get what you're barking at. The girls body is fucking great, you know?"

"Shut up Hidan." Deidara growled, his voice turning from one of a defensive nature to something more serious.

"I was just getting to know it too before the Uchiha ruined the moment. I think her tits are bigger than her shirt shows, you know? So soft."

"What the fuck did you do to Miyu, Hidan?!" Deidara's rage was building to another level, his childish embarrassment disregarded. He shifted a kunai hidden up his sleeve, maneuvering it down his arm into his hand. Hidan smirked in a look of satisfaction, his grip on his weapon shifting to that of combat.

"I swear I will cut out all your organs and sell them on the black market if you both don't shut up." Kakuzu's grim voice interrupted the bickering pair. Hidan and Deidara stared at each other, an unspoken challenge in both the men's eyes. Deciding better to continue at another time, they put aside their weapons begrudgingly.

"Ah. Itachi." Sasori opened his eyes, remembering something suddenly as he listened to the conversation.

"What about him?" Deidara mumbled, obviously still upset from Hidan's earlier goading.

"Hidan mentioned him."

"Yeah he did, why does that matter, hmm?"

"You didn't know where Miyu was, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I went to look for her last night but I couldn't find her, hm." Deidara's face turned to one of confusion as he looked at his fellow artist. Why was Sasori jumping around topics so much? And what did this have to do with Miyu?

"The last time I saw Miyu...she was with Itachi."

"So?" Deidara huffed, feigning his lack of interest. He crossed his arms across his chest in a stubborn gesture.

"Last night. He took her inside his room."

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." It was Hidan who had spoken, his face twisted into an angry scowl, eyes narrowed. Deidara seemed to be frozen in time, his face recoiling in a look of surprise. Even Kakuzu glanced up from his papers in a mild form of curiosity, but simply went back to the numbers before him.

"Enough, let's begin." Before anything else could be spoken or done, Pein had appeared. There wasn't much they could do, so the men quieted down as the meeting began, their minds still whirling. Sasori for one though, was happy to have the tranquility of nature's sounds return.

* * *

Sasori watched the sun as it dipped behind some clouds. The meeting was progressing, but Sasori only half listened. He was a part of Akatsuki, no doubt, but he wasn't in it to be bossed around. By all means he would carry out the missions assigned, but he treated them more as an obligation. The things the Akatsuki wanted to do were a mere distraction to him in his pursuit of his real passion; his puppets.

With a twitch of his fingers, Sasori directed Hiruko's head to look at the other members, the puppet letting out a quiet creak. Through soft brown eyes, Sasori spied Deidara and Hidan also looking uninterested in the meeting. But it wasn't the red heads own lack of interest, more like the other two were simply preoccupied. He scoffed slightly to himself. It wasn't hard to assume that both men were thinking of what he had told them moments before the meeting had started. They both had turned into hormonal teenagers when it came to the newly added brunette.

Sasori figured it couldn't be helped. There was only Konan before Miyu had arrived, and Konan had made her intentions clear early on that she wasn't interested. And not to be trifled with. She had sliced Hidan in half the last time he tried anything with her. But Miyu was different. Meek and easy prey.

Nevertheless, Sasori had trouble understanding the fixation on the new member. Pein had shown some interest in the girl as well, yet as far as he could tell, she was a simple kunoichi. Granted, her interesting ability made him wonder how the woman would look and function as a puppet. He had trouble assessing the usefulness of such a puppet, yet Sasori imagined that her pale skin would look excellent accented with some birch.

"Dismissed."

Their leader dissipated into the air as soon as the words left his mouth, a thin trail of smoke being the only signal he was ever there. Hidan and Deidara were gone in the next instant as well, both heading in different directions yet seeking the same girl. Kakuzu snapped his accounting books shut, and gave the redhead a nod before vanishing himself. Sasori made the puppet nod curtly back and began to walk toward the direction of the hideout, the wood groaning in a complaint. He narrowed his eyes. _I'll need to fix that at once. Before the next mission starts._

The puppet creaked as it made it's way, Sasori's fingertips dancing inside the wooden weapon as he controlled it. The creaking of the wood was irritating him. He moved faster and faster toward his destination as a pressure began to build in his head. He did not waste time to idle as he entered the hideout, and proceeded straight to his room. It would take time to refurbish Hiruko to perfection. Once the door safely clicked behind him, Sasori carefully made his way out of the puppet. He leaned next to the joints of his art, running a hand through his messy red hair as he did so. Sasori smiled as he relished in the silence of his room. No annoying teammates, no loud ass explosions... With a tug, the man pulled the Akatsuki cloak off Hiruko, letting it slide onto the ground. Using a steady and experienced hand, he began to pull the contraption apart, carefully removing an arm.

"Ugh I'm so tired." The door had swung open. Sasori's eyes widened in shock. He had been so concentrated he hadn't felt the presence of the intruder. It was Miyu. Of course it was. No one else had dared to enter his room. But she had just walked into the room and shut the door behind her in mere seconds. She was just plain ignorant or wanted a death wish. Either way, Sasori was not happy for the interruption.

"And just what do you think you're doing here?" The redhead couldn't keep the chill of cold annoyance and irritation out of his breath. Why the fuck couldn't they have locks on the doors?

"What?!" Miyu yelped when she felt something encircle her wrist and arms.

"I said, what are you doing here, in _my_ room." Brown eyes narrowed at the girl. His fingers pulled the girl close to him, jerking her. In an instant she was before the man, captured in his web.

"I'm sorry! I thought it was my room!" The woman eyes blinked open wide as adrenaline coursed through her veins, suddenly seeming to realize just exactly where she was."It was a mistake!" The man mad no moves to release her, nor to harm her. He just stared at her with those soft brown eyes. Miyu frowned, her voice becoming pleading. "I've been up all night training, I haven't slept. It was just a mistake."

More time passed and nothing was said. Sasori shifted his eyes across her body. Now that he was in control of the situation, he had time to analyze it. The girl wasn't dirty, as if she had just showered, but there were red marks on her skin and face. The closer he looked, the more angry red lines he saw. Purple undertones under her pale skin indicated fresh bruises. On her arm Sasori also recognized a distinct patch of burned skin.

 _So she was training with Itachi then? Doesn't look like he went easy on her..._

"Fine. Don't make it again." His voice sounded normal, but the threat remained. With a flick of his wrist, he released the chakra threads that had wound themselves around her body. She fell to the ground with a thump.

"Yeah, sorry..." She pouted at the harsh treatment, but said nothing. At least she was free. She stood up and brushed her legs with her hands in an attempt to dislodge any dust that might have attached itself.

"Leave."

"What?"

"I have work to do." Sasori's voice took on an irritated tone again. He didn't have time for this. He turned away from Miyu without another word and set to begin his work again.

"Um..."

 _Why wasn't she leaving? Arrogant brat..._ Sasori's eyes narrowed at the woman. _Leave._

"Sorry, but who are you? I've never seen you around here."

"You have."

"I don't think so."

"You have."

"Then what's your name?"

"Akasuna no Sasori." Why did he answer? _Just leave so I can work!_ He was relieved when the woman went silent, and he returned to pulling another arm off his puppet. But... Sasori was anticipating more idiotic questions or more protest of some sort. His eyes glanced at the woman briefly only to meet hers. Seconds trickled by, but the woman made no signs of looking away. "What?" He growled.

"I-I'm sorry." Miyu gulped, suddenly aware that she had been staring at the redhead. "I just didn't realize how young you were. Deidara talks about you so respectfully, I just assumed..."

"I am old." Sasori grunted in response.

"How old are you?"

"Old enough." Sasori narrowed his eyes at the girl, and she nodded with a disappointed face. It seemed like an awfully personal question to him. "Why does it matter?"

"I can't explain it, it just does."

"I disagree. Shinobi's weapons can last long past their original wielder and creator if they are passed down through generations. Ancient techniques and arts have lived far into the future because of this. They're timeless, therefore, age does not matter."

"Well, I guess you have a point, but that's not exactly what I meant." Miyu laughed gently. It sounded hallow to Sasori, dull and full of fake happiness.

"What did you mean then?"

"I was just curious as to how old you were."

"Why?" Sasori hissed through clenched teeth. Why was she so persistent?

"Because I don't know how old I am." Sasori didn't know how to respond to this. He blinked back at the small girl, words seeming to fly out of his head. Her gray eyes narrowed toward him and he could almost feel a chill in the air as she continued speaking. "Time travels differently when you're in a box for so long. I just thought maybe I could figure out how old I was if I compared my age to yours, since we seem to be similar in age."

"I'm older than I look, ask someone else." He turned away from the girl dismissively. But yet the girl remained. His patience was wearing thin.

"Oh! You're the wide one!" Miyu suddenly gasped. Sasori looked toward her in confusion. What the hell was that supposed to mean? The woman was crouched toward the ground next to Hiruko. She flashed the man a smile, this one seeming genuine. She caught the question in his eyes and pointed back at his puppet and nearby cloak he had thrown on the ground. Her voice was light, eyes shimmering. "I remember this wide guy when I first got here. And then in my room when I..." Her voice grew quieter at the memory of her psychotic episode. "That explains why I couldn't move then and now. So...is this you?"

"Essentially." Sasori responded vaguely.

"Oh so you're inside this then?" Miyu said, peering down at Hiruko as she walked around the puppet. "And you can control it?"

"Obviously."

"Can I see?" Miyu asked hesitantly, her gray eyes looking up under her eyelashes up at him.

"Yeah." He entwined his chakra around Hiruko's tail, making it move to perch above the puppets back.

"That's pretty cool."

"Indeed." Sasori was verging on a grin. It felt weird to have someone compliment his art like this. The other men around the Akatsuki didn't seem to have any taste. At least she had an appreciation for art.

"Did you make it?"

"Look around you." Sasori visibly rolled his eyes. On the walls of his bedroom other puppets were hanging up. Parts were displayed on shelves along with various woodworking tools. Vials of poison were kept on a desk, sharp needles laying next to them. Sasori watched her wince as she looked around, her previous smile of interest dissolving into a frown.

"That's pretty cool." She said. Sasori noticed the shift in her tone of voice. It seemed like the brightness he had heard had vanished in an instant. He also noticed that Miyu was pulling at the hem of her shirt, knuckles turning white. "Um, well sorry again. I'll be going now."

Sasori nodded silently, eyes narrowing at her sudden change in demeanor. He watched with emotionless eyes as she quickly exited the room, pulling the door closed with a soft click. The redhead listened as her footsteps walked away for a moment before returning to his work. As he began the process of replacing the wood, stray thoughts seemed to wiggle into his mind. When had he last had a conversation with someone like that? Why had her attitude changed so fast? And then left so quickly? Sure, Sasori had wanted her to leave, but her sudden departure made him feel uneasy. The questions weighed on his mind as he tried to work, but the silence of his room provided no answers.

Suddenly it was much too quite and he couldn't concentrate.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Shorter chapter today, sorry! ;w;**

 **Thank you for everyone that has been reviewing/messaging me about this story. It really makes me so happy to see these things. You motivate me! Please let me know if you have any suggestions of things you'd like to see (I write as I go so maybe I can fit some stuff in hehe).**

 **Please enjoy this chapter as well!**

* * *

She could feel it building inside her. An indescribable frustration and desperation had appeared out of nowhere in Sasori's room. She had to get out of there. It bubbled beneath her forced calm exterior, though she knew she wouldn't be able to keep the guise up long. The woman quickly excused herself and made a beeline to her room. A place of safety. Her pace quickened as her gray eyes flickered to the shadows. The hallway felt unusually long and her nerves began to get the best of her. She felt like someone was watching her. Could someone be following her? She shook her head. She was safe here. She had powerful shinobi by her side.

 _Are you sure they're on your side?_

Of course they were. They rescued her.

 _They rescued you...but why?_

She remembered the way Hidan had pinned her against the wall, the feeling of his cold fingers wrapping around her throat... Terror had begun seeping into her body like watercolor spreading across a canvas. Her muscles grew stiff as she walked. She felt eyes boring into the back of her head.

"Who's there?!" She whipped around and yelled at the darkness. There was no response. But she swore she saw someone standing there on the edge of the wall. Her eyes squinted as she peered into the dim light. She blinked. They were gone. Had they gone around the corner? With a growl of determination she stalked to the edge of the wall and looked around it into the living room. Inside Deidara and Itachi were talking in a deep conversation. It seemed to be an intense one, both of the men's faces hard, Deidara's tinged red. Despite this, Miyu felt herself relax. Among everyone she had met so far, she felt the most comfortable around these two. Miyu prepared herself to interject to ask if they had seen someone go through the area, but noticed something as she listened, something odd.

Both the men were speaking a strange language. She couldn't understand a single word they were saying. She had never heard that language before. Miyu frowned. Why were they speaking in that weird tongue?

 _They don't want you to know what they're saying._

Why?

 _They're hiding something from you. Plotting._

Plotting what?

 _To hurt you._

That's crazy.

She took a step forward, shaking her head at herself. She was being irrational, she knew it. But the sense of uneasiness never left her body. The men noticed her immediately, a pair of blue and red eyes looking her way.

"Oh Miyu, hm." Deidara seemed happy to see her while Itachi nodded in greeting.

"Hey." Miyu nodded back, then narrowed her eyes. They weren't speaking that language anymore. "Um, what was that?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

"What was what?" Deidara raised a brow in question.

"Don't play stupid. That language you were speaking."

"Um..." Deidara looked confused and glanced at Itachi. Itachi met his gaze with a questioning look of his own. Both men turned to look at the brunette. "You mean English, hmm?"

"It wasn't fucking English. I'd never heard anything like it!" Miyu felt irritation prickling her skin and placed a stubborn hand on her hip. How dare they lie to her face? She knew what she had heard. She couldn't had heard that wrong...right?

 _Hiding something._

But the look on their faces seemed to be genuine. The sheer confusion on their faces made Miyu take a hesitant step back. They really seemed to have no idea what she was talking about. Just what was going on? Her head began to pound and she visibly winced. A battle between paranoia and sanity had begun in her head. Had she really heard that? Or was it in her head? Had she really seen someone in the hallway? Or was that a figment of her imagination as well?

"Are you okay, hm?"

"I'm fine. Sorry." Miyu had to get away. Things didn't make sense to her and the lack of understanding made her skin crawl in fear. She fled back into the hallway. She didn't stop running until she was in the comfort of her own room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"What was that about, hm?" Deidara shook his head to himself, then shifted his cerulean eyes to look back at Itachi in an accusatory glare. "You swear you didn't do anything to her?"

"I already told you I took her training." Itachi glowered at the man. His patience was wearing thin with the man. He wasn't sure how he had found out about Miyu coming into his room, but the blonde hadn't shut up about it. "If you insist on asking me meaningless questions-"

"Why did she run out of here like a bat out of hell then, hm?"

"I don't know." Itachi answered back flippantly, turning to walk away from the blonde dismissively. He was more worried about the gibberish the girl had been spouting before she left. He ran through the memory of her face twisted in anger and then uncertainty. Fear clear in her eyes. How her face seemed to be drained of color as she ran away... Maybe he should go check on her? But would that be a good idea? But... He began to move after the woman but a flash of orange in his vision stopped him.

"Where is Miyu?" A deep voice asked. Pein had stepped into the living room. Itachi mentally cursed. With Pein around he would have to forget about going after the girl.

"She just left. To her room I think, hm?" Deidara answered their Leader. The blonde gave one last pointed look at Itachi before he exited the room, going down the hallway that led to his own room. Pein nodded, his eyes sliding to the hallway toward Miyu's make-shift room.

"Leader." Itachi spoke before the man could move.

 _Fuck!_

He had done it again. Speaking without thinking.

"Yes?" His rinnegan slide to meet Itachi's sharingan.

 _Speak carefully._

"When the girl left, she seemed...unstable."

"Noted." Pein replied simply and made his way to the woman's room. When he was gone, Itachi sighed to himself. The girl was turning out to be more trouble than anything else. He should stay away from her after all...

* * *

He lifted his hand to knock lightly on the door. When there was no answer, he didn't hesitate to walk inside. Pein scanned the small room and found no sign of the kunoichi. But she could not hide from his eyes.

"Miyu." He called out to the girl and approached the storage closet in the room. Pein found it odd that a woman who had been caged for so long would willingly cram herself into a small space. He stood in front of it, the shadow of his feet blocking the light from under the door. "I'm going to open it."

The door swung open to reveal the small woman crouched in a corner of the closet. He spied a kunai clutched in her hand, the metal weapon pressing against her skin hard enough to summon blood. She drew away from him, trying to push herself into the corner of meeting walls.

Itachi had been right. She was unstable. He could see it in her eyes. They looked hallow and darted over his form, fear registering on her face. She had obviously been crying. He would have to handle this delicately and vaguely wondered if he should call Konan to assist.

"Miyu."

The woman blinked at him, slowly nodding. He stepped forward into the closet. She shivered.

"Are you okay?"

Her red rimmed eyes widened, not expecting the gentle words to come from the usually authoritative mans mouth. After a moment, she shook her head, gray brown hair resting in front of her face. Her head looked down into her knees that were drawn to her chest.

 _So she's responsive. Good. No need to call Konan...yet. But why would she be in the closet...?_

He narrowed his eyes in a pensive action as he looked around him. Suddenly the answer came to him.

"Would you like me to close the door Miyu?" The girl nodded, an expression of relief flooding her face. Pein reached out to close the door behind him, enveloping the two in darkness, cutting off the outside world. His eyes blinked instinctively to adjust to the darkness. He watched carefully as the girl relaxed, her posture becoming less rigid. _I guess small spaces bring her comfort as opposed to fear._ It made sense to him. In her situation you could either grow to be claustrophobic in times of stress, or the opposite. She seemed to be the latter.

Pein shifted so he could crouch on the ground alongside Miyu. His rinnegan watched her closely as if she were a wild animal on edge but the woman made no movements. He leaned forward bringing his face close to hers.

"Tell me."

The voice was commanding yet gentle. Like a soft push on your back to get you to jump into a cold lake. The sound brought a new round of tears to her eyes that threatened to spill over.

"I...I'm crazy."

"You're not."

"But I am!" Miyu cried out, shaking her head at the man who had set her free. "I keep thinking these horrible thoughts. Like you're planning to hurt me. To use me. And I hear and see things that are not real-"

"It's normal."

Miyu's eyes widened in disgust. He had no idea. How was this normal? Was he making light of her pain? The kunai pressed more deeply into her hand, but the pain didn't shake her as much as his statement did. "How the hell is it normal?! _Normal_ people don't feel this way!"

"That's not what I meant."

"...then what did you mean?"

"It's normal for this to be happening. For you to experience these things."

"But why?"

"Because you're special. Unique."

"I don't want to be special if it means I have to feel this way..." Miyu sighed. "But wait...how am I special yet also normal? That doesn't make sense."

"You're not getting it Miyu."

"Then explain it."

"This world is harsh." Pein was silent for a few moments and Miyu gazed at him, waiting for him to continue. "The world is destructive. It has brought you pain, has it not? I chose you because you understand the pain of the world Miyu."

Miyu nodded, the sting of the kunai echoing in her mind.

 _Shattered, the mirror crumbled to the ground. Shards scattered around her feet, the sounds rattling on the concrete walls around her._

 _She would have to do it fast._

 _She grabbed a long piece from the ground and help it tightly in her hand. With a hum, she stepped into the warm water of the bath she had run. Relaxing into the steam, she laid down, her hand with the shard carefully above the surface of the water. She hesitated, but only for a moment. She inhaled deeply as she dug the sharp edge of the the piece of glass into her arm and drug it down her arm following a blue line. Mechanically, she switched sides and did the same with as much strength as she could muster._

 _There was no more fear anymore. Finally, the story would draw to a close. She let her eyes slide shut._

"I do." Miyu blinked away the memories.

"I know. What you are experiencing is simply your mind trying to cope with this pain Miyu."

The girl nodded slowly, her voice small. "So it's okay?"

"Everyone has different coping mechanisms."

"So its okay, right?"

"It's okay." Pein's face grew soft as he gave her a gentle nod.

Her gray eyes trembled as a sense of relief flowed through her. Pein moved slowly, reaching out for the young kunoichi's hand. Gently, he lifted the girls fingers from around the weapon. Miyu resisted this at first, the fear of protection being taken away from her causing some panic, but there was something about his elegant and sure movements... The kunai slipped from her grasp as he confiscated the metal object. Her shoulders slumped as tension was released.

"Miyu."

She liked the way he said her name.

"I will end the cycle of pain in this world."


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: With 25 followers, 10 favorites, a handful of reviews, and over 1,250 views... I am so happy at the wonderful reception my first fanfic has had in this wonderful community. Thank you all again for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.**

* * *

Thud.

The sound of a suriken hitting a tree echoed through the undergrowth. Miyu grimaced as she missed her mark. The weapon had soared too high for her intended target. Scowling, she threw another. This one missed the tree completely, whizzing past the trunk to plant itself into the ground. She clicked her tongue in disappointment and went to retrieve the multiple kunai and suriken she had been practicing with. She picked them up one by one and then returned to her original position to start the exercise over again.

"Tsk."

Miyu spun around in surprise at the sound. Lumbering toward her was Kisame, his giant wrapped sword propped against his back. His eyes were bleak as he looked at the young woman in front of him, his signature Akatsuki cloak flowing against the wind.

"And here I was hoping I would have the place to myself."

"Sorry." Miyu mumbled, her voice on edge. She hadn't been around the man much after he and Itachi had broken her out of her confinement, but his sheer size and creepy smile was enough to make her wary. Above all though, she didn't want to be rude to one of her rescuers. Miyu side stepped to the left to give the large man more room in the training area.

"All good, just don't get in the way." His toothy grin set her hair on edge. He took the spot she had opened up just to her right, resting his sword against the ground. She felt even smaller next to him, glancing at his massive frame.

"I won't."

"Wait," Kisame paused, tilting his head in thought, "how do you even know about this place?"

"Itachi trained me here." Miyu kept her answer short and brief, launching the kunai at the same tree as before. It stabbed into the bark, planting itself just to the left of the bulls-eye. Relief filled her. She hadn't exactly wanted to miss again in front of her team member.

"He did, did he?" Kisame's eyes narrowed in thought as he scammed the girl up and down. Wearing shorts and a simple shirt over fishnet, she was still skinny. Her body was still recovering from the malnutrition, but she at least seemed well enough to be practicing, her face slowly filling with color over the past two weeks. Kisame watched her as she practiced, silently agreeing to himself that she had indeed begun to fill out nicely. But why had his partner taken the time to train the feeble girl? "Want to spar with me then?" He suggested casually.

"S-spar?" Miyu squeaked, her gray eyes flickering over to the shark man. "I'm not that good..."

"I just wanna see what you can do." When she still looked doubtful, her eyes glancing at Samehada, Kisame rolled his eyes. "Just taijutsu? One kunai each."

Hesitantly, the girl nodded in agreement. "Just taijutsu." She repeated.

The two faced each other, Kisame leaving his giant sword on the ground. He pulled a kunai from under his cloak, taking an aggressive stance. Miyu in turn took a defensive one on instinct, her left arm coming across her chest, weapon in hand.

Without a word spoken, the match had begun. He came at her fast, running low to the ground, fist raised in the air. Miyu was surprised. She didn't think a man of his size would be able to move that fast. Her breath hitched in her throat as she jerked herself to the left. Kisame lifted his hand with the kunai in it and slashed at the air where she had been previously. She managed to twist her body away from the sharp edge, but felt the blade whiz by only inches from her skin. She lept backwards again, trying to put some distance between them, but Kisame was by her side in a flash. He stabbed at her again with the kunai, and a clash of metal could be heard as she defended herself with her own weapon.

They danced for a bit, throwing punches and cutting the air with their kunai's, Miyu sparring without holding anything back. Miyu was surprisingly fast, but she was wearing out quickly. She didn't have near as much stamina as the man she was fighting against. Her movements slowed, exhaustion taking over her. Kisame found it easier to predict and avoid her movements as she slowed, and managed to make contact with the girls skin several times. He remained untouched.

Kisame let a smirk overtake his features as he watched red cuts begin to fill his arms, and rushed towards the brunette yet again. He slashed the kunai at her. Miyu managed to block with her own, catching the underside of his kunai with her own. With a twist of her wrist and a yanking motion, the man's kunai fell out of his hands. Miyu was proud that she had managed to successfully use the move Itachi had only recently taught her, but Kisame showed no fear of being disarmed. He lunged at her, not missing a beat, and she swung, a little too late. The blue man dodged easily, and slunk around her fist. And then he was right beside her.

"Too bad, I was having fun. But I believe you're at your limit." Miyu felt his breath on her neck. A cold blade pressed against her skin and a sense of panic filled her. Her eye darted to the field where she had disarmed him earlier and found their was no kunai on the ground.

 _When did he retrieve it? Was he going easy on me this whole time?!_

She bit the inside of her cheek in frustration as the man moved away from her, the feeling making her fist clench. She sank to the ground and breathed in heavily as exhaustion took over her, an overwhelming feeling of disappointment and defeat brooding inside. She was no match against these men here. She felt her mind slide to the memory of her conversation with Pein.

" _I will end the cycle of pain in this world."_

" _Cycle of pain?" Miyu answered back, her head tilted slightly._

 _Pein grew quiet, shifting his legs underneath him to sit on the floor next to the woman. The Akatsuki cloak spread revealing the mans legs as he sat, his head resting against the wall._

" _This world has inflicted so much pain..." He grew quiet as his usually emotionless face grew clouded. He looked like he wanted to say something else. His mouth opened, but then closed again. Several moments of silence passed without him saying another word._

" _I want to help."_

" _You do, do you?" Pein's ringed eyes turned to look at her, his gaze piercing._

" _I do. I want to change this world too."_

" _You can Miyu."_

" _Yeah. I'll get strong and become useful."_

"Put this on."

Miyu blinked. Kisame was shrugging off the cloak from around his shoulders.

"What?"

"Just put it on dammit!" He held the the robe out to her, his face twisting when she only stared back at him in question. He groaned loudly when she didn't move to take the offered clothing. "Do you really want the others to see you like that?"

Confused, Miyu glanced down. She noticed her shirt had been torn in their sparring, a slit running down the front of it, the slash of the kunai even tearing through her bra. Her chest was exposed. To Kisame's surprise though, her face remained relaxed.

"Oh. My shirt got torn." Her slim fingers touched the frayed edge of the shirt near her neck, lifting it up to examine the shredded piece of clothing. The action gave Kisame more than an eyeful of her breast, only partially hidden by the slack cup of her bra. He felt heat rush to his abdomen. For a moment, he wondered if the small woman had done it intentionally, perhaps wanting to get a rise out of him.

"Just cover up, you're making me angry." The man growled, his pointed teeth showing as he shoved his cloak into her arms.

"Oh, sorry." She frowned, her pink bottom lip sticking out in a pout as she began to put an arm through the garment. Kisame thought how nice it would be to bite that plump lip as he stole another glance beneath her shirt. He forced himself to look away, shifting uneasily as he stood. _At least have some common decency as a man..._

 _But man. She keeps getting sexier._

"Uh, Kisame?"

"Yeah." He grunted his response, turning to look back at her. He was somewhat relieved, yet also disappointed at the sight of his cloak enveloping her small form.

"I'm sorry about the shirt."

"I don't care about that."

"Oh."

Miyu glanced down the ground, her eyes narrowed in thought. Kisame shook his head in dismay when she seemed to be confused once again. Did the woman seriously not know why he was upset at her?

"You don't know why I was mad?"

"Not really..."

"Listen Miyu, it's not decent for a woman to show her...uh, figure, to a man." His hand scratched behind his ear awkwardly.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, so just don't."

Miyu was quiet as she took in this information, the somewhat harsh tone of his voice. She thought about the many times the men had seen her naked body in the cage, every time she pulled off her clothing for an examination. She suddenly felt dirty. She remembered how scared she was when she felt Hidan mentally undress her, trapped underneath him.

"So...it's bad?"

Kisame saw her painful expression.

"Well, it's not bad, per say. It can be good. Really good." He found himself imagining the girl stripped of all her clothing, positioned above him. He shook the image and his arousal away. "You're just not really supposed to."

"Why?"

"Well, it's not that you shouldn't show it...you can if you want, but really to just one man. Well, I guess it's okay if it's not just one, you're a free woman to do whatever you want. But you shouldn't show your body to every man either..." Kisame was struggling to explain the concept to the small woman, his eyes narrowing into a pensive expression. "It's okay if it's a guy you like."

 _Why the fuck do I have to explain this to her?_ Kisame was becoming frustrated with the situation.

"I like Deidara, Itachi, and Pein. And you're nice too."

The image of her naked body was back, but this time she was straddling one of the other men.

 _That's why._

"That's not what I meant." Kisame scowled.

She frowned, her face still showing signs of not understanding. He groaned. "Look, have Konan explain it to you, che. Until then, don't let anyone see under your clothing."

Miyu was still confused, but stayed silent, nodding obediently. She figured the subject must have been serious enough for Kisame to talk about it, and decided to listen to his advice.

With a turn on his foot, Kisame went to retrieve Samehada, glancing up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set behind the trees. "C'mon shrimp, you've trained enough for today." Without looking at her, he began to walk back to the base. Miyu smiled to herself, feeling as if she had just received some sort of praise, and quickly ran after the tall man. Her wariness of the missing nin had dissipated after their conversation and they walked back in a comfortable silence.

 _Kisame is nicer than I thought._

* * *

The members were crowded in the living room space. A large bottle of alcohol was placed in the middle of the coffee table, variously designed drinking glasses scattered across the surface. When Kisame appeared in the doorway, heads turned to look and greet the man.

"Oi, Kisame! Kakuzu finally bought us some alcohol! Come get fucked up! I've already got your cup out." Hidan was holding up his own scarlet red cup as to demonstrate his point, a pink hint of his cheeks giving away his already drunken state of mind. When he noticed the small woman move behind Kisame, his smile grew even wider. "Bring the bitch too, there's enough to go around."

"Oh I could use a glass." Kisame smirked and wasted no time in claiming his cup off the table. It was a simple cup, black ombre fading down into a royal blue. Across the table, Konan elegantly poured some of the clear liquid into the glass for the man.

Miyu shifted uneasily, not moving away from the doorway. Her gray eyes glanced around the room, scanning for somewhere to sit. In the middle of the room, next to the coffee table, was a couch. Hidan was moving into the middle so Kisame could sit down. On the other side of the silver haired man, Kakuzu was quietly sipping his own clear glass. Across the coffee table a loveseat was positioned with two chairs on either side. Konan had claimed one of the chairs. Itachi, choosing not to sit, was quietly standing next to the wall behind her.

"Miyu, hm." A pair of bright blue eyes was looking happily at her from the loveseat. Deidara patted the open cushion next to him and Miyu crossed the living room quickly to seat herself next to the man. She felt a pair of fuchsia eyes watch her intently as she got comfortable, quietly glad she was directly opposite from Hidan. She shivered under his gaze and pulled the oversized cloak around her shoulders tighter.

"Why's she got your cloak Kisame?" The gesture hadn't gone unnoticed, and Hidan probed curiously next to the shark man, an elbow jabbing his side. A suggestive expression adorned his face.

Kisame bared his teeth, the memory of the curvature of the woman's breast flashing in his mind. "She was cold." He said simply, smirking at the idea of his own private knowledge of what lay beneath. Hidan narrowed his eyes suspiciously, taking another gulp of liquor.

"Good, I was worried you'd fucked her before me."

"Hidan." Konan calmly issued a warning. Kisame laughed loudly at the fiery battle of glares between the two that followed.

"Want some?" The blonde asked Miyu trying to steal her attention away from the other men. He offered the woman a brightly painted cup. He smiled kindly at her. "You can use my cup until we can get you your own, hm."

"Oh, thank you." Miyu smiled and took the cup from him, suddenly feeling reassured by his presence.

"Just go easy-"

"Ack!"

Deidara's warning had come too late and she was choking on the harsh liquid. She coughed, leaning forward. Deidara took his cup back from the girl, a concerned expression on his face.

"What is this?" She gasped, bringing a hand over her chest. "It's so bitter."

"It's rum." A deep voice spoke that Miyu didn't recognize. Her gray eyes slid to look at the speaker, the man that sat on the other side of Hidan. He was lightly swirling his own glass in the palm of his hand leisurely. Miyu thought she remembered seeing the man the day she woke up in the cave, the day she first come to be apart of the Akatsuki. She remembered the unusually colored eyes, red and green clashing. "Popular in the west. Cheap but effective," the man murmured.

"Ain't that the truth, Kakuzu." Kisame barked out a laugh.

"Sip slowly." Konan had stood up and approached Miyu, offering a white cup with a blue floral design to her. "It will be more pleasant that way. You may use my cup, as I have business to attend to."

Miyu accepted the offer, and Konan left the room swiftly. For a moment, Miyu admired the grace she exhibited. Taking the older woman's advice, she took another drink, slowly this time. The warm liquid washed down the back of her throat easier and she continued to nurse her drink as she listened to the other members converse beside her.

"Oi, leave some for the rest of us, hm!" Deidara shouted as he spotted Kisame pouring another cup for himself.

"Maybe you should drink faster?" Kisame shot back with a smirk.

"Yeah blondie." Hidan goaded, not missing an opportunity to make fun of the youngest member.

"Shut up. At least I'm not a lightweight, hm." Deidara defiantly took another drink of his glass.

"Nothing wrong with being a lightweight." Kakuzu's smooth voice spoke. "Drunker on less money."

"Yeah, lightweight's have more fun." Hidan grinned mischievously, the red tinge of his cheeks highly visible, words beginning to slur.

"Hey, you a lightweight shrimp?" Kisame had turned to look at her.

"Lightweight?" Echoed Miyu, alarmed at her sudden inclusion into the conversation.

"Yeah, do you get drunk easy or..?" There was a dangerous flash in Hidan's eyes as he trailed of, grinning at her. She tensed reflexively under his stare.

"Drunk?" She squeaked in question.

"If you drink alcohol, you'll become intoxicated." It was Itachi who had spoken now. He moved silently through the room to sit in the chair that Konan had previously occupied. A simple black cup clanked against the coffee table, and Itachi procured the bottle of alcohol. He filled his glass halfway, taking it to his lips and sipping as he looked at the brunette with his piercing red eyes. Their eyes met.

"I'm guessing rum is alcohol?" She shifted her eyes away, her cheeks heating, looking down to stare at Konan's cup. The cup was now almost empty, only a thin layer of rum coating the bottom.

"Have you never had alcohol before, un?" Deidara asked, cerulean eyes also focusing on her.

"No." She squeaked, shaking her head.

"Well then have some more!" Hidan suddenly stood up. On wobbly legs, he reached across the table for the bottle and snatched it into his hands from Itachi. With a wide stride, he lumbered over to the girl. When she only shrank away from him, he frowned. "C'mon, drink." He growled, forcing the opening of the bottle to flow more rum into her cup. Satisfied, he flopped back down onto the couch to entertain his own glass.

Miyu glanced down nervously at her now full cup.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." The Uchiha was sipping his glass, eyes cast downward.

"Yeah, you're already red." Kisame snatched the bottle from Hidan and filled up his glass for a third time.

"Do you feel okay?" Surprisingly, it was Kakuzu who had spoken up. He had said it casually, but eyes still shifted to him in curiousity. He didn't seem to care.

"I feel...kinda," she mused having a hard time focusing on the cup in her hands, "fuzzy?" She wasn't sure if that was the proper way to explain how she felt. She took another drink from her cup, the liquid no longer as harsh as before.

"Your body isn't used to it, it's not shocking you're already feeling it." Kisame shrugged, taking another gulp. "Unlike you, I need a lot. I'm a lot of man."

Kakuzu grunted in agreement.

"Is this drunk?" Miyu asked the men, her head tilted to the side. Her eyes were half-lidded and she blinked slowly.

"Kinda, hmm." Deidara chuckled as he felt the woman lean into him. He fought the urge to put his arm around her.

"It's hot." She whined, voice drawled out, shifting uncomfortably under Kisame's cloak. She pulled at the neck, fanning herself with the clothing.

"Okay, maybe you're getting there, hm." Deidara laughed. "You did drink that first cup fast, hmm, it's probably just hitting you all at once."

"It's hooooot." Miyu complained again.

"Just take the fucking cloak off." Hidan rolled his eyes, finishing his cup and setting it on the table.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Kakuzu looked up at the blushing woman, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Kisame said I can't."

All head's turned to look at the blue skinned man. He held up his hands in defense when the members began interrogating him, determined to know the reason.

"But I'm really hot Kisame." Miyu sighed, leaning against Deidara even more. He could make out the form of her breast pushing into his arm. He bit his lower lip at the look of the woman's flushed face, at her soft looking lips, his gaze absorbing the sight greedily. The action did not go unnoticed by two pairs of red eyes.

Hidan's eyes had narrowed jealously.

"You've had enough Miyu." Itachi had stood up and held out his hand to the drunken woman. "Some water should help."

The woman nodded and obediently took the mans help with standing up from the loveseat. With gentle guidance, Itachi placed the borrowed cup down, then led the staggering woman towards the kitchen. She disappeared into the tiled area, while Itachi paused. With a emotionless face, he stared at the other men in the room. Deidara couldn't meet his gaze and looked away in shame while in contrast Hidan only smirked.

"Don't act like that Uchiha." The silver haired man rolled his eyes, propping his legs up onto the coffee table in front of him. "Like you wouldn't wanna nail her either," he scoffed.

The raven haired man didn't respond, refusing to acknowledge the preposterous statement. He turned to follow after the woman.

* * *

"You're so nice Itachi." Miyu was mumbling when she caught sight of the man following after her. She was fanning her neck again, searching through the cabinets. She opened one and peered up inside it. "Where is water? And cups?"

"Right there in front of you." Itachi sighed and closed the distance between them. "Let me get them, I don't want you breaking something and having Kakuzu come after you. Just stay still." He reached into the cabinet, his masculine chest pressing slightly against her back. Miyu's breath caught in her throat and her heart began to hammer against ribs painfully.

 _I hope he can't feel that._

"Uh, okay."

Itachi proceeded to claim a small glass from the cabinet and went to the sink. Miyu watched quietly as he turned on the faucet, a nervousness taking over her, her thighs pressing together as she watched the handsome man. The floor swayed gently beneath her as the glass filled.

"Here." Itachi handed the glass out to Miyu and she took the item with shaky hands. She sipped on it, looking up from under her eyelashes at him. She remembered the nervous excitement that had pooled in her stomach when he was behind her. A slight disappointment when he moved away. Had she wanted him to touch her? Miyu was suddenly embarrassed and confused at her own thoughts.

 _Why was it so different when he was near and not Hidan? Why do I feel like this? Is it because of the rum? Is this 'drunk?'_

Neither said anything more. They stood in silence for a few minutes, Miyu awkwardly trying to figure out the odd tension that had developed in the room, Itachi distracted by Hidan's last comment. His red eyes slid over to the small woman as she sipped her water, eyes narrowing.

 _I'm nothing like him._

"Let's get you to bed now."

"U-um, going to bed think now, right?" Miyu stammered, putting her glass down into the sink once it had emptied.

"Ah, I'll escort you."

"No. S'okay, I do okay."

"I insist."

"But-"

"You're in no state to walk around by yourself Miyu. You can't even talk properly."

"Sorwy."

"I'll be retiring as well so it's no trouble." Itachi said firmly.

Giving in, Miyu nodded and together they walked to the sections where the Akatsuki members bedrooms lay. Miyu's room, located in the former treatment room, was located away from the other bedrooms. In fact, the only person who was located in the same spot as Miyu was Sasori. They past by the redhead's room and Itachi could make out the faint shuffling sounds inside, signaling the puppet masters presence. Moving on to the room next door, Itachi opened the blocked entrance and ushered the young woman inside and straight to her bed. He lifted up the covers and watched as the small woman crawled underneath them. As he turned away, he felt something snag him. Miyu was holding the edge of his cloak in a small hand.

"Feel weird." Miyu whimpered, looking up at him with round sleepy eyes.

"Sleep it off, it'll go away in the morning."

"'Kay." Miyu's eyes slid shut. Itachi sighed and shook his head. This woman was so confusing. He waited a few moments for her breath to even out, the rise and fall of her chest falling faintly under the covers. Hesitantly, after assuring himself that she was indeed asleep, he tucked the sheets around her body. He left the room and shut the door tightly behind him before he was tempted to do anything else, the sight of her flushed face as she held onto his cloak still fresh in his mind as he made his way to his own room.

* * *

The men left in the living room had spread out. Kakuzu stretched across the couch once Kisame and Hidan had both claimed the chairs in the rooms for themselves. Deidara, once again having the loveseat to himself, laid out, his eye shut as he had fallen asleep.

"Things sure have gotten exciting around here." Kisame mused.

"Ah." Kakuzu nodded his agreement.

"'Cause of that fucking girl." Hidan leaned forward and swiped the bottle from the table, preparing to fill his cup again.

"You've had enough." Kakuzu growled and snatched the rum back from his partner.

"Hey!" Hidan growled through a slur.

"Leave the rest to the big boys that can actually handle their liquor." Kisame laughed as he held out his glass for another refill. Kakuzu obliged and filled it up, then took the bottle to his own lips, his small drinking glass forgotten. The rest was for him. After all, he was the one that had bought it.

"Whatever, you know I'm right though." Hidan growled as he drew his arms across his chest in a stubborn gesture. He leaned his head back and groaned to the ceiling. "Jashin, I just want to fuck her!"

"Damn you got it bad." Kisame raised his eyebrow at the silver haired man.

"Hey, you agreed with me. Said she was, and I quote, a 'nice snack'." Hidan mumbled, peering down inside his cup for another drop of possible alcohol. He frowned when he found none.

"I did."

"I just think about that small body squeezing my dick in and I just, ugh-!" Hidan huffed in anger and then looked at Kisame. Determination filled his expression. "Hey, you gonna tell me why she was wearing your cloak now or what?"

"She was-"

"I don't want to hear that bullshit excuse either." Hidan's face grew into a scowl. Kisame sighed as he thought about telling the men. Normally, he would keep the secret for himself, but the amount of rum he had ingested were making his lips loser than normal.

"Well we were training..."

"Training?" Kakuzu questioned to himself, turning his head to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah and?" Hidan probed eagerly, leaning forward to listen intently.

"Well I kinda ripped her shirt in two." The shark man laughed, his mouth wide.

"You're fucking kidding me! This whole time-!" Hidan sat back against his chair angrily, his purplish eyes flashing.

"Yeah, I saw a lot too. Man, her breast looked so soft." Kisame had escalated into an almost boastful tone.

"Hmph." Hidan pouted, disappointing that he hadn't seen the woman's breast himself.

"Yeah, but she was acting really weird."

"Weird?" Kakuzu asked and Kisame blinked in surprise. The man didn't normally participate in their conversations.

"Like it didn't even bother her that I could see everything."

"No way, she freaked the fuck out when I tried..." Hidan scoffed in disbelief as he remembered the look of terror in her eyes as he held her by the throat.

"That's because it's you Hidan. Any woman would want to run away with the way you do things." Kakuzu stated matter-of-factly, his blank stare piercing into Hidan.

"Shut the fuck up." The silver haired man sneered, looking away in a pout. His eyes narrowed in thought at what the man had said though, and he found himself reexamining how everything had went down that day.

"Spot on!" Kisame howled with laughter. "You got the wrong style to woo a woman into bed."

"He's the type that has to buy woman." Kakuzu added smugly.

"He's way too aggressive. And violent."

"Women need a gentle touch."

"True. Plus they run away as soon as he mentions Jashin." Kisame couldn't help but bring up the mans odd religion.

"You're right. I've got a better chance with her."

"Oh?" Kisame was eyeing the masked man with interest. "Kakuzu, are you...interested too?"

Kakuzu shrugged, taking another swig from the bottle he held in his hands. He swallowed the warm liquid slowly as he thought. "She's not bad looking. Interesting at least. Probably wouldn't say no."

"Oh ho! So that's a yes." Kisame snickered, taking another gulp of his rum. "Oh shit, this is bad. That girl is in a wolves den."

"Indeed." Kakuzu was nodding in agreement, relaxing against the back of the couch.

"Probably isn't the best thing for the group though." Kisame pondered as he downed the rest of his glass. "The guys will probably get too competitive."

"I'm not worried about it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Things will settle down once she gets together with someone."

"You think so?"

"Would you tolerate someone else hitting on your girl?"

"...No, I wouldn't."

"Beat their asses right?"

Kisame nodded in agreement and Kakuzu shrugged, taking another sip of rum.

"Things will fall into place." Kakuzu said simply.

"Yeah, as long as the wolves learn their place." Kisame grinned and shot a look at Hidan, but his face fell into confusion. "Hey Kakuzu?"

"Mm?"

"Where did Hidan go?"


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yeeesssh! It's been so long! So terribly sorry for the wait. I've done some serious thinking about how I want this story to proceed and I've decided to go with the poll vote. This story will officially transition into being ItachixOC! Yay~! I also have rewritten this chapter way too many times... I actually completed the chapter awhile ago, but then the file got corrupted and yeah... the effort to retype everything was tremendous.**

 **Anyways, I thank you for your patience and hope you enjoy this chapter and what's to come.**

* * *

Unsure of how long she had been asleep before awakening in her bed again, Miyu stared at the ceiling above her. The normally uncomfortable hospital bed she had claimed as her own was surprisingly more comfortable than normal. She felt happy. Peaceful. With a childlike wonder, she stretched out her hand into the darkness of the night. Perhaps she could somehow touch her fingertips to the white ceiling above her? Giggling at the absurd notion, Miyu smiled. She brought her hand back to her chest, feeling the flush of her skin. Perhaps being drunk wasn't so bad.

She looked around at the treatment room, the darkness swirling in her vision. The room rocked. She winced, her eyes fluttering closed in reaction to a wave of nausea.

"Agh, maybe it's not all good..." The woman whispered to herself.

"Are you okay?"

Miyu flinched in surprise as she was not expecting the voice that came from inside her room. Her stomach lurched at the sudden movement as her head was sent spinning again. She groaned, bringing her palms up to cradle her head, catching only the flash of red as she did so. _Red...eyes? Itachi?_ The voice she had heard was indeed the deep voice of a man. She vaguely remembered the Uchiha walking her to her room. Had he stayed to look after her? She couldn't remember, but the idea filled her with a warm sensation. She shook her head slightly in response.

"You'll feel better if you just continue to lay down." The masculine voice spoke again, but this time Miyu heard the slurring of his words. She could smell the rum they'd consumed on him strongly. Had Itachi drank too much? Sounds of shuffling indicated his approach towards where she lay.

"I feel sick."

"Just keep your eyes closed. It'll help."

"Okay..." She mumbled through her barely parted lips with a sigh.

"Are you hot?"

"Mhmm."

"Stay still then."

Miyu simply nodded, the swirl of alcohol and an upset stomach making her unusually obedient. Gray eyes closed and blocked out the world around her. She felt the thin material of her covers slip down towards her feet and the rush of cool air fill the space around her. She was surprised, defensive at first, but she relaxed when she thought about the way the man had been with her so far. _Itachi is so nice...he helped me then to._ He'd taken the time to train her, after recalled the way he'd gotten her water earlier. Then the way he'd insisted on escorting her back to her room. And now he was taking care of her? Still? The warm feeling made the edge of her lips turn upwards into a small smile. Never before had someone given her such kindness.

"I like it here." She hummed drunkenly, a small peaceful smile on her face.

"Do you? I'm glad." He responded.

"Yeah..."

"Miyu?"

"Yes?"

"I want to kiss you."

"Wha-"

"I'm going to."

The feeling of his lips on hers was sudden, cutting her question off, and her eyes blinked open in surprise. The shadowed face of Itachi was too close for her to make any details out. She only could see that his eyes were closed as his lips kissed hers, and hesitantly, her own eyes followed suit and slid shut naturally. She let the darkness overtake her and focused on the sensation instead. The feeling of soft lips touching hers was a first and she basked in the feeling of this reality. The men before had never pressed their lips to hers. She laid there, still, not sure what to do, with one thought flying through her mind. It repeated itself over and over.

 _Itachi is...kissing me..!_

The nervousness and the warm sensation she'd felt earlier in the kitchen were back. Miyu felt him press closer, applying more pressure into their kiss, feeling his hard sculpted chest against hers. His mouth moved slowly against hers. And her lips responded on their own. She kissed back hesitantly, a soft sound of satisfaction slipping out. The noise only seemed to intensify the strength of his kiss, his tongue reaching out to lick her lips. It dipped inside and explored her mouth.

She became aware of his large hands placing themselves on her hips. The man had crawled atop her. They held her in place as the man began to ravage her. _It feels good._ Miyu's arms rose to encircle around his back as the space between them diminished. A womanly instinct she'd thought she'd killed a long time ago had woken inside of her. Their kiss broke for air and Itachi immediately began to kiss and nip at her neck. Her neck craned away to allow him easier access. She whimpered in pleasure. One of his hands moved to remove Kisame's large cloak. The rush of cold air against her bare skin seemed to clear the fog from her mind. _My torn clothes!_ _He can see everything! I didn't change from training earlier!_ Miyu turned red and tried to hid her chest from his eyes.

"I-Itachi...I can't..." She breathed between pants.

"Who?"

Her eyes snapped open to stare at the man before her. Miyu's face scrunched as she narrowed her eyes, trying to pierce up through the darkness at him. Slowly, more details uncovered themselves as her eyes adjusted. What she had thought was red was fuchsia. What she had thought would be black was silver. Her mouth opened to let out a dismayed scream, the warm atmosphere leaving to be replaced with cold fear. Swiftly, a hand was placed over it before she could utter a sound and a cruel smile filled the man's face.

"What, you're okay with that cold bastard but not me? That's not very nice Miyu." Hidan whispered. A large hand slid down to settle on her neck, his digits pressing into the side as he squeezed. Her small body filled with terror. She began to struggle and his eyes committed the sight of her form underneath him to memory. His earlier comment about her chest had seemed to be true and he stared at her breast with a hunger. "Just continue to be a good bitch, okay?"

Miyu coughed as the pressure around her throat grew, unable to reply. With his free hand, Hidan easily stripped Miyu of the cloak and her tattered clothing. The woman froze in fear. _No, no! It's okay, you're not the old you. You can do this!_ She pressed her hands against his chest and tried to push him off. But he was just too heavy and that too resulted in failure. _Just stay calm..._

Hidan chuckled to himself in amusement at the attempt. But there was no chance he'd let this opportunity pass him by and he let his full body weight fall on her. The amount of times he'd imagined her beneath him... His head ducked so his mouth could engulf one of her nipples into his mouth. He sucked hard and bit the nub roughly. He pressed his hardened member against her core and he felt the woman under him flinch. His free hand slipped between her skin and her shorts. It slide downwards and cupped her heat. Hidan's head rose and his glazed eyes met Miyu's. The grip around her throat loosened and she sucked in a breath of air. The Jashinist grinned.

"Moan for me bitch." He commanded and plunged a finger between her folds.

"Ah!"

"Are those tears? The look on your face right now," he paused briefly to lean down whisper in her ear, "it's thrilling."

Hidan felt her slump below him, her hands falling by her head, no longer fighting against his chest. A smirk adorned his face. Victory. While his purple eyes made sure he committed every detail of this event to his memory as Miyu succumbed to him, he continued to move his digit, watching her face as he did so. The submissive position only drove his desire. Satisfied, he looked down at the only thing remaining between him and his desire. He scoffed at the pair of shorts and focused on removing them.

* * *

"The Village Hidden in the Rain huh? My kind of place." Kisame hummed his approval. Like the other teams, his duo had just been assigned their new mission from Pein via telepathic link. He looked at his partner through the corner of his eyes. "Not a very exciting mission but at least we're on the move again."

Itachi didn't respond, just kept walking down the hallway with a blank expression on his face.

Kisame shook his head, a knowing smile appearing. Sure, the Uchiha wasn't much of a talker in the first place. That was normal. But ever since they'd heard their new objective, he'd grown even quieter. It was almost like he was lost in his own mind. Kisame liked the idea that something could ruffle the usually stoic man's feathers. _Is it because she's coming with us? What out mission is?_ Kisame mused as the pair made their way to Miyu's room. He'd opened his mouth to ask when he noticed Itachi had stopped walking and was staring intently down the corridor. Curious, Kisame copied his partners actions. Ahead, there was some sort of commotion.

"You bitch, I'll kill you!" Kisame's eyebrow arched upwards. That was definitely the shrieking voice of Hidan.

Swiftly, Itachi had begun walking towards the source. Only Kisame, who had been Itachi's partner for so long, could see the slightly rushed steps he took. The blue man chuckled to himself and followed, a hand coming to lazily rest on his sword. Just in case. Both men came to a stop outside of Miyu's room where the commotion was taking place. Kisame leaned forward to peer inside.

Closest to the door was the puppet Hiruko, where Sasori was assumed to be inside. It's tail was extended and was clearly stabbed through the chest of Hidan, blood dripping onto the floor below. A kunai embedded into the back of his shoulder could also be seen. A line of blood leaked from his mouth to his chin.

"Agh Sasori, don't you know how much that hurts?! Ugh." Hidan complained, a hand trying to push the stinger of Hiruko out of his chest. Sasori responded by twisting the stinger and using the tail to lift Hidan into the air. He groaned, feet dangling as he kicked the air in anger.

"What happened here?" Kisame ignored the fuming Jashinist and turned to Sasori for an answer. Both he and his partner stepped inside the room for a closer look.

"They interrupted my work." The response was flat.

"They?" Echoed Kisame as he once again scanned the room. That's when he noticed the small form of Miyu huddled into the corner of the room. She was pressed against the wall hiding beneath his cloak using it as a blanket. "You little shit." Kisame breathed behind a crooked smirk as he shook his head at Hidan like a child that had be caught stealing. The alcohol coursing through his veins made the situation overall amusing.

"Can someone fucking help me?!" Hidan yapped at he glared at the three other men in the room.

"No." The four noticed the presence of Pein. He appeared, standing outside the room in the hallway, looking in. His face was blank, the only signal giving away any emotion was his slightly scrunched eyebrows. His eyes shifted slightly to take in the situation before him. "...Bring him to my office." Pein concluded and turned away. Sasori grunted in response and turned his puppet to follow the Akatsuki leader.

"I'm not missing this." Kisame barked in laughter and followed the others as they left. His laughter could be heard echoing down the hallway.

Itachi stayed. His eyes took in the body of Miyu as she sat against the ground. With slow steps he approached her. When the woman didn't respond to his presence, he hesitantly bent his knees so that he was closer to the ground. Her head was bent to look at her lap and her hair covered her face. His mouth opened but no words came out. He didn't know what to say and searched for the proper words. Instead, he gently moved Kisame's cloak from her lap to around her shoulders.

"I-I...the kunai..." Itachi was somewhat relieved that the silence was broken by Miyu.

"You stabbed him." To Itachi it wasn't hard to figure out what had happened.

"Yes." Miyu sighed the word out softly and looked up at him. "I stabbed him."

"I see." Itachi was slightly taken aback by the fierce look in her eyes. He'd expected the frail girl he'd seen in the hospital bed weeks earlier, shaking in anxiety and fear. But this was the look of a woman who'd defended herself and won. Someone whose confidence was returning. Sure the woman was trembling in fear, but her eyes were ablaze. Something filled his chest and his lips turned slightly upwards."You did well."

There was something about the unexpected gentleness in his voice that cracked Miyu. The tears she'd been holding back began to fall. Her head fell into the palms of her hands as the salty liquid flowed and gentle sobs wracked her body. His hand reached out and settled on the top of her head in an awkward gesture of comfort, slowly sliding down to the back of her neck.

"You..." He started and then paused. Miyu felt her heart slam inside her chest feeling herself hanging onto his words. But then seemingly changing his mind about something, Itachi suddenly drew his hand back and let it hang loosely by his side. "You should go to bed, we leave in the morning for a mission." His voice had returned to being cold and flat. A wave of disappointment washed over Miyu.

"Ah, yes, of course."

"Goodnight." He pretended not to notice the annoyance in her tone as he stood at her door and then quickly stepped out, closing the door behind him.

"...goodnight." She sighed and then shook her head. She rose to her feet and begun to pick up her tattered clothes. She balled them up into a ball and haphazardly used them to wipe Hidan's blood from the floor. Frowning, she then threw the bloody clothes in the trash, a sudden feeling of relief filling her as she realized that she would be leaving soon. Hesitantly, she moved to her bed. Sliding once again between the sheets, she turned to lay on her side, taking hold of a pillow and hugging it to her chest. She couldn't make sense of the emotions that were flowing through her.

 _What was he going to say?Why didn't he tell me?_ She thought back to the sensation of his hand patting her head, the feeling of some of his fingers slipping through her hair. _His hand was so big and warm...Ugh! Why does it matter?! Why do I care so much?!_ She threw the pillow she held across the room in a fit of frustration. She shifted to lay on her back and closed her eyes, wishing sleep would take her. But all she saw was the kind look in his sharingan. She remembered the way her chest swelled with happiness when she thought it was him kissing her, the fear when she understood it wasn't him at all, and the feeling of disappointment when he left, when his eyes turned cold again. Not understanding her conflicting emotions, she closed her eyes and begged sleep to take her.

* * *

" _Miyu? Miyu?!"_

 _Someone is calling for me. I can't make them worry._

 _A small girl runs from outside and into the house, down a long hallway, her feet making pat-pat-pat noises as she does. Her mousey brown hair whips around her face as she rounds a corner and collides with a man. She falls backwards and lands against the ground with a thud. Tears form in her eyes at the harsh sensation and the young girl sniffles._

" _Ah, so there you are Miyu. Don't cry now." The man, with dark black hair and gray eyes, reaches down and pats her head gently. A smile appears on the girls face at the gesture and the girl lets out a small laugh, her tears forgotten. Smiling back to the girl, he calls out to someone else. "I found her!"_

" _Thank goodness!" Came an answer from deep in the house. Again, the sounds of running footsteps could be heard until a woman came into view. She had the same brown hair with a tinge of gray that the young girl did. She went directly to the girl and scooped her into her arms, letting out a loud sigh. "Oh you had me so worried!"_

" _I'm sorry mom, dad." The young child smiled brightly at the two adults, hoping for forgiveness. It seemed to work as they just smiled and shook their heads._

* * *

The song of a sparrow guided Miyu back to the waking world. Her eyes slowly opened to take in the colors of sunrise, orange sunlight streaming into the room. She groggily shifted her eyes to the window and squinted. The first thing she noticed besides the color orange was that her head throbbed.

"Suki," she addressed the small bird that was perched on the windowsill, "thank you." The bird tweeted back a response and Miyu sat up in the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She paused for a minute, reflecting back on her dream. She could still vividly feel the happiness her young self was feeling.

 _But those were all lies._

Now all she could feel was bitterness. A sense of betrayal. The letters of the the piece of paper that her parents had signed were burned into her mind and she could not forget them.

Miyu swung her feet from under the covers and rose out of the bed. The ache of bruises and the sight of a smear of blood on the floor reminded her that did happen. Miyu willed her emotions away. Handling the chaotic feelings whipping inside her was too much, too confusing. Between the dream, her hangover, Hidan, and Itachi, it was too much right now. So she pushed them down and focused on getting ready for the mission. _Don't think. Just do. Come what may, remember?_ She thought as she stripped Kisame's cloak off, making sure to fold it neatly, and laid it down on her bed. She began dressing, sliding on some fishnet shirt and stockings and putting another layer of a simple pair of shorts and a light pink shirt on. As a final touch, she pulled on the cloak Konan had given her so long ago for the first time. It seemed to fit, the length of the cloak just barely fluttering above the ground.

She turned to walk over to her desk, grabbing a small weapons pouch she'd been loaned. She stuffed her bottle of medication in and began collecting her kunai's she'd hidden around the room. Her lips turned upwards as she remembered the way she'd felt when she'd plunged the kunai into Hidan and he'd yelped in pain like a small animal. With a sense of satisfaction, she then packed those into the pouch along with her suriken, latching it closed. It wasn't long after when there came a knock on her door.

"Coming." She replied and opened the door to reveal Kisame. A flash of confusion passed across her face. She was strangely relieved yet disappointed it was him instead a certain stone-faced man.

"Hey short stuff." Kisame greeted her and casually walked into her room. Miyu shot him a look of annoyance that he'd just let himself in, but he pretended he didn't see it. "Are you ready for the mission?" He seemed to be louder than normal, his voice booming.

"Oh, hey. Yeah." She sighed and rubbed her forehead, a pained look on her face. "Do you have to be so loud though?"

"Ooooh, got a hangover? A side effect of drinking too much, ya know." He let a toothy grin come across his face.

"Don't make fun of me." Miyu shot back at him, sensing he was belittling her.

"I'm not, I'm not~"

"I don't believe you."

"Truely, I'm not."

"Whatever."

"Oh c'mon don't be like that babe~"

"Don't call be 'babe', go it? It makes me feel gross." She hissed, stalking over to her bed and throwing his borrowed cloak at him as hard as she could. He simply laughed catching it easily, smirking like always. "It's not fair, how come you're not miserable?" She winced as she tried to look outside, the action causing her head to throb again.

"I stay hydrated. Lots of water. Now, come one, let's go." He shrugged and then turned on his heel easily and strode out of the room. Miyu sighed in annoyance, grabbed her pouch and then ran after him. By the time she'd caught up, they were nearing the end of the hallway. Miyu felt her body stiffen when she realized that Itachi was there, quietly waiting for his two partners to come.

"Good morning Itachi!" Miyu bobbed her head in a greeting.

"That's a hell of a greeting compared to the one I got..." Kisame grumbled.

Itachi didn't speak, instead he politely answered with a small nod of his own, and then quickly looked away. He turned his back on the two and began walking towards the exit of the hideout silently.

The small woman was absently picking at her fingernails. Occasionally, she would glance at the Uchiha, her lips parted as if she wants to say something to the man. But each time, her mouth closed without saying anything. _Is it just me of is he...ignoring me?_ Not once had his eyes moved away from the path in front of him. The questions from the night before had begun bubbling inside her again and she wanted answers, and him not acknowledging her wouldn't do. She gathered all her determination and willpower and her lips parted one more time.

"I-Itachi?" She stumbled saying his name for some reason.

"Yes?" He answered, speaking to her finally.

 _Why are you nice to me? Why do you keep helping me? But then also tell me to stay away? And the way you touched me...What did it mean?_

His red eyes slide over to meet her gray eyes for the fist time since last night. Immediately, the scene where he reached out and pat her head played in her mind. She felt her heart beat against her chest almost painfully as she listened to his cool voice, a small flush of red appearing on her face. She averted her eyes, suddenly painfully aware that they were not alone. Kisame had been watching their interaction.

"Where are we going?" The question that fell from Miyu's lips were not the one she wanted to ask, but at least she didn't sound stupid.

"The Village Hidden in the Mist. Near it anyways." Kisame interjected before Itachi could respond.

"Near it?" She echoes. Miyu's eyes shifted to look at Kisame, her expression growing more serious. A light of recognition glowed in her eyes. And a light of hope. "Where?" She probed the shark-man.

"North."

"North?!" She asked excitedly. "Where exactly north...?"

"Hm...I wonder~" Kisame put his hands behind his head and leaned back to smile at the ceiling nonchantly.

"Tell me Kiasme!"

"Should I? Hmm I wonder..."

"Kisame, tell me." Miyu was almost pleading now as she looked up at the tall man. But again, he made no indication of saying aything more. In a moment of frustration, she grabbed the sleeve of Kisame's claok and pulled on it. "Please." She asked. Kisame stared down at her round eyes in surprise. That sweet, pleading voice was kind of a turn on...and so was that face she was making. Pleading eyes, pouting lips...

"We are going exactly where you think we are Miyu." Itachi was the one that interrupted now. Kisame looked over at the black haired shinobi with a knowing smirk as he had picked up on the edge of anger in his voice. Was _the_ Itachi Uchiha actually jealous? He laughed to himself and Itachi glared at him to silence his partner who only laughed harder.

"Really?!" Miyu squeaked, oblivious to her teammates silent bickering. She turned to Itachi now, clasping her hands in front of her chest in excitement and prayer.

Itachi gave one last dismissive look to Kisame and nodded at the young woman. "Yes. We're headed to the village where you grew up."


	9. Announcement

Hey there guys! Its the author here and I have some big news for you all that have followed this story and maybe anticipated more...

I have decided to rewrite this story.

I was deeply interested in continuing the story after being gone for so long. However, while rereading the story, I found myself unsatisfied with various aspects. So with (little) thought, I'm going to rewrite this into a hopefully more intriguing story. There may be changes to the plot and the main character, but I hope it's for the better.

I appreciate your patience and hope you'll stick around to see a hopefully, improved, story.

Thank you!

xxx,

LovelyLiterate


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